Randomized trial compares CO2 sequestration techniques in thermophilic bacteria for environmental applications, suggesting effective dual-function pathways.
This study introduces a sustainable, dual-function biomineralization approach utilizing thermophilic bacterial and enzymatic pathways to efficiently sequester CO 2 as high-purity calcium carbonate nanoparticles through microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP). The approach employs the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus tequilensis and the enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA), alongside Bacillus paralicheniformis and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) for CO 2 bioconversion into value-added products. The comparative evaluation of these biological systems demonstrates their effectiveness for integrated carbon sequestration, utilization, and heavy metal encapsulation for environmental remediation. The paper discusses the limitations of existing CO 2 sequestration techniques and the advantages of the current comparative study of bacterial-induced carbonate precipitation (BICP) and enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) with optimization parameters to control CaCO 3 production. It highlights the contribution of thermophiles in lead incorporation into carbonate minerals, with 84% ± 1.03 and 73% ± 0.54 yield, and the creation of nanosized crystals with average diameters of 46.16 and 54.11 nm. To assess the polymorph of CaCO 3, FTIR, XRD spectrum, and SEM micrographs were performed, which confirm the formation of vaterite and calcite crystals by their characteristic leaf-like/polyhedral morphology and the alignment of spectral signatures. The concentrations of Pb were assessed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Moreover, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) study showed 95.4% calcium carbonate content (CCC%) in precipitates produced from for Bacillus tequilensis and 86.3% for Bacillus paralicheniformis suggesting the high purity of CaCO 3 . Additionally, enzyme and bacterial concentrations beyond optimized levels showed diminishing returns in CaCO 3 yield, emphasizing process efficiency. These calcifying microbes showed their potential role in surviving toxic metal environments, which facilitates the coprecipitation, providing a mechanism for heavy metal remediation. This integrative study elucidates the biochemical roles of distinct enzymes secreted by thermophilic mineral-forming bacteria and their interplay in carbonate biomineralization and metal encapsulation. Collectively, these findings underscore the potential of thermophile-derived BICP and EICP pathways as scalable, dual-function technologies for effective CO 2 capture and heavy metal detoxification, advancing biomineralization strategies for environmental sustainability.
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Negi et al. (2026) studied this question.