The Biomineralization laboratory at Qatar University’s (QU) Environmental Science Center (ESC) is a new laboratory dealing with biominerals. Biomineralization is a relatively new research discipline that integrates earth sciences with microbiology. Biomineralization is defined as the process by which living organisms produce minerals. Biominerals are of great importance due to their impact on the global biogeochemical cycle and have wide-scale implications in bioremediation, maintenance of archaeological sites and exploration of hydrocarbons.
One of the laboratory projects is to investigate the possible microbial mediation of microbes in the formation of dolomite. Dolomite is an important oil and gas reservoir in Qatar and the region. The main reservoir in Qatar’s largest gas field, the North Field is formed of dolomite. The ongoing experiments performed at the ESC lab evidenced the role of bacteria in the formation of high magnesium carbonates, which are considered as potential precursors for dolomite formation.