Understanding the mechanisms of biological struvite biomineralisation

The mechanisms of struvite production through biomineralisation were investigated for five microorganisms (Bacillus pumilus, Brevibacterium antiquum, Myxococcus xanthus, Halobacterium salinarum and Idiomarina loihiensis). After 72–96 h of incubation, the microbial strains tested increased the solution pH from 7.5 to 7.7 to 8.4–8.7, and removed ortho-phosphate (63–71%) and magnesium (94–99%) by biomineralisation. The minerals formed were identified as struvite (i.e. bio-struvite). Within the initial 24 h of incubation, microbial growth rates of 0.16–0.28 1/h were measured, and bio-struvite production was observed when the solution supersaturation index with respect to struvite achieved 0.6–0.8 units. The crystals produced by B. pumilus, H. salinarum and M. xanthus were thin trapezoidal-platy shaped and presented a gap size about 200 μm for intervals between cumulative volume undersize distribution at 50% and 90%. While B. antiquum and I. loihiensis produced crystals of coffin-lid/long-bar shape and a narrow size gap around 100 μm for intervals between cumulative volume percentage of 50% and 90%, indicating homogeneous crystal size distribution. Intracellular supersaturation of struvite phase was achieved within B. antiquum and I. loihiensis cells, corresponding to observation of intracellular vesicle-like structures occupied with electron-dense granules/materials. This study suggests that B. antiquum and I. loihiensis produced bio-struvite through biologically controlled mineralisation. This mechanism is the preferred for recovering nutrients from streams such as wastewater because it allows a link between manipulation of microbial growth conditions and bio-struvite production, even in highly complex streams like wastewater.