Department of Geological Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh.
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Maijdee, Noakhali, 3814, Bangladesh.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Aug;30(40):91676-91709. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-28937-4. Epub 2023 Aug 1.
Mine tailings contain finer particles, crushed rocks, dugout-soil, water, and organic and inorganic metals or metalloids, including heavy metals and radionuclides, which are dumped as waste or non-economic by-products generated during mining and mineral processing. These abundant and untreated materials seriously threaten the environment, human health, and biodiversity because of the presence of heavy metals, radionuclides, and associated primary and secondary toxic components, including the risk of tailings dam failures. Biocementation technology, which involves the use of mining microbes to secrete cement-like materials that bind soil particles together, is a promising approach to restore mine tailing sites and reduce their mobility and toxicity. However, there is a lack of literature on the combined interactions among mining microbes, tailings residues, biocementation, and low-carbon cement (LCC) prospects. This comprehensive review article explores the prospects of mining microbes for mine tailings restoration using biocementation technology, the key influencing factors and their impact, mechanisms and metabolic pathways, and the effectiveness of biocementation technology in restoring mine tailings sites. In addition, it reviews the utilization of mine tailings materials as an alternative source of cement or construction materials for LCC technology. Furthermore, this review highlights the important issues, challenges, limitations, and applications of biocementation technology for mine tailings rehabilitation. Finally, it provides insights for future research and implementation of biocementation for mine tailings restoration and utilization of tailing materials in the industrial sector to reduce carbon emissions/footprints and achieve net-zero goals.
矿山尾矿包含更细的颗粒、碎岩石、挖掘土壤、水以及有机和无机金属或类金属，包括重金属和放射性核素，这些物质被作为废物或采矿和矿物加工过程中产生的非经济副产品倾倒。由于存在重金属、放射性核素以及相关的原生和次生有毒成分，包括尾矿坝失事的风险，这些丰富且未经处理的物质严重威胁着环境、人类健康和生物多样性。生物胶结技术涉及利用采矿微生物分泌类似于水泥的物质将土壤颗粒结合在一起，是一种有前途的方法，可以恢复矿山尾矿场并降低其迁移性和毒性。然而，关于采矿微生物、尾矿残渣、生物胶结和低碳水泥（LCC）前景之间的综合相互作用的文献很少。这篇全面的综述文章探讨了利用生物胶结技术恢复矿山尾矿的采矿微生物的前景，关键影响因素及其影响、机制和代谢途径，以及生物胶结技术在恢复矿山尾矿场方面的有效性。此外，它还回顾了利用矿山尾矿材料作为低碳水泥技术中替代水泥或建筑材料的用途。此外，该综述强调了生物胶结技术在矿山尾矿修复中的重要问题、挑战、局限性和应用。最后，它为未来的研究和实施提供了见解，以实现生物胶结在矿山尾矿修复和利用尾矿材料减少碳排放/足迹并实现净零目标方面的应用。
