Process through which an organic substance becomes impregnated by or turned
into inorganic substances.
Note 1: A particular case is the process by which living organisms produce and
structure minerals often to harden or stiffen existing tissues. (See biomineralization.)
Note 2: In the case of polymer biodegradation, this term is used to reflect conversion
to CO2 and H2O and other inorganics. CH4 can be considered as part of the mineralization
process because it comes up in parallel to the minerals in anaerobic composting, also
In biology, mineralization refers to a process where an organism produces an inorganic substance. This may be due to normal biological processes that take place during the life of an organism such as the formation of bones, egg shells, teeth, coral, exoskeletons. It may also refer to abnormal processes that result in kidney and gall stones.