<![CDATA[Mercury (Hg) is a toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative heavy metal that can contaminate the environment and pose risks to human health. Laboratory wastewater containing mercury requires effective and environmentally friendly treatment technologies before being discharged into water bodies. One promising alternative is bioremediation using heavy metal-resistant bacteria. This study aimed to determine the optimum conditions for mercury (Hg) bioremediation using Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and their consortium based on variations in pH, incubation time, and initial Hg concentration, as well as to evaluate the ability of each bacterial culture and the consortium to reduce Hg concentrations in laboratory wastewater. The study employed a laboratory-based experimental design, with optimization experiments conducted at pH 5, 6, 7, and 8; incubation times of 24–120 hours; and initial Hg concentrations of 5–25 mg/L. Mercury concentrations were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The results showed that the optimum bioremediation conditions were pH 7, an incubation time of 96 hours, and an initial Hg concentration of 5 mg/L. P. aeruginosa exhibited a higher mercury reduction capacity than B. cereus, whereas the use of the bacterial consortium resulted in the highest removal efficiency. When applied to laboratory wastewater, the bacterial consortium reduced the mercury concentration by up to 73.45%, which was higher than that achieved using individual bacterial cultures. Nevertheless, the final mercury concentration remained above the applicable quality standard, indicating that further treatment is required before the wastewater can be discharged into the environment. These findings demonstrate that the combination of B. cereus and P. aeruginosa has potential as an environmentally friendly bioremediation agent for the treatment of mercury-containing wastewater.]]>
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