Special Issue "Biomineralization and MICP in Wastewater, Reclaimed Water and Seawater"

Dear Colleagues,

We are seeking submissions of high-quality peer-reviewed studies in the field of microbial biomineralization with relation to wastewater, reclaimed water and seawater.

Given the scarcity of water resulting from the global impact of climate change and drought, in addition to the significant development of industries that require large quantities of water, it is imperative that all water—be it wastewater, reclaimed water or seawater—be properly used and recycled. Thus, the development of new technologies that facilitate improved water quality or obtaining of new products via biomineralization has aroused great scientific interest in recent years.

Biomineralization performed by various types of organisms. Bacteria from the internal metabolism change their surrounding environment, inducing the precipitation of crystals such as calcium carbonate, struvite, etc. One of the most extensively studied processes is the precipitation of carbonates induced microbiologically or via MICP in the presence of urea. The bacteria use their urease enzyme, generating ammonium and carbonate and thus inducing the precipitation of calcium carbonate. MICP plays a relevant role due to its involvement in the removal of heavy metals through coprecipitation with CaCO₃ and in biocementation, among other biotechnological applications.

This Special Issue will provide rapid, open access publication of promising, recent and novel research trends in biomineralization and MICP applied to wastewater, reclaimed water and seawater.

Topics within the scope of this Special Issue include (but are not limited to):

• Isolation or use of new biomineralizing bacteria from extreme environments, including anaerobic, aerobic, acidophilic and halophilic bacteria applied to water.
• New applications of MICP to water.
• Application of biomineralization in heavy metals and metalloids removal processes from water.
• Formation of biominerals in acidic environmental waters.

Dr. Mariella Rivas
Dr. Dayana Arias
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• biomineralization
• MICP
• ureolytic bacteria
• produced water
• heavy metals
• biominerals