Bacterial Biofilms for Bioremediation

Heavy metal pollution has been the cause of growing concern due to numerous negative health effects and damage to ecosystems. Increased mining of metals, such as cobalt, for electronics necessitate strategies for bioremediation. Current remediation practices, such as chemical precipitation, filtration, and ion exchange, are costly, require ex-situ treatment, and can generate toxic waste. Bioremediation using biomass, particularly bacterial biofilms, has gained attention due to its cost-effectiveness and use of biodegradable material. However, current implementations often use pathogenic bacteria or generate toxic waste combined with the biomass. Here, we explore the potential of two novel strains of bacteria for cobalt bioremediation that are non-pathogenic, wild type, and waterborne. We use rheological and thermogravimetric analyses to show that these bacteria produce large volumes of biofilm that is mechanically and thermally stable, ideal for applications such as bioremediation. We also explore the potential of these two bacteria for remediation of cobalt and determine how varying environmental conditions influence metal uptake.