Biomediated Permeability Reduction of Saturated Sands
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 12
Abstract
New, alternative in situ ground improvement techniques are necessary to address increased performance demands and growing environmental concerns of traditional grouting methods. To date, the controlled use of microbiological processes has demonstrated promise in the ability of microbes and their activity to address this need. A particular form of biological improvement is the use of biofilms, an organic accumulation of cells and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), in saturated soils. By adhering and accumulating on particle surfaces, biofilms can cause clogging of the pore volume and induce significant reductions in permeability. The void-filling nature of biofilms allows for possible field applications to control groundwater, heal leaks, and prevent internal erosion in structures such as earth dams and levees. This laboratory study investigated the growth characteristics and robustness of biofilm-treated sands. Experimental results indicate that biofilms are capable of reducing permeability of saturated sands by 100-fold or more after only two to three weeks of nutrient treatment. These improvements can be maintained indefinitely with continued nutrient treatments, after which a gradual return to initial conditions occurs. Permeability reductions were shown to remain stable in a variety of adverse conditions including two months of starvation, reverse flow, and fluctuating hydraulic gradients. Further tests indicated that biofilm growth in this study was highly heterogeneous, with the majority of clogging occurring near the inlet face. The results of this study show strong potential for the use of biofilms to reduce permeability, but future studies are required to improve uniformity as the process is scaled to field applications.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
Funding from the National Science Foundation (CMMI-0830182 and -1234367) is appreciated. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
References
Allison, D. G., Ruiz, B., SanJose, C., Jaspe, A., and Gilbert, P. (1998). “Extracellular products as mediators of the formation and detachment of Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilms.” FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 167(2), 179–184.
Allison, L. E. (1947). “Effect of microorganisms on permeability of soil under prolonged submergence.” Soil Sci., 63(6), 439–450.
Baveye, P., Vandevivere, P., Hoyle, B. L., Deleo, P. C., and De Lozada, D. S. (1998). “Environmental impact and mechanisms of the biological clogging of saturated soils and aquifer materials.” Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol., 28(2), 123–191.
Blauw, M., Lambert, J. W. M., and Latil, M. N. (2009). “Biosealing, an innovative method to reduce seepage in dams.” Hydro 2009–Int. Conf. and Exhibition, Hydropower and Dams, Aqua Media International, Wallington, London.
Bouwer, H. (1996). “Issues in artificial recharge.” Water Sci. Technol., 33(10), 381–390.
Bryers, J. D. (2000). Biofilms II: Process analysis and applications, Wiley-Liss, New York.
Bryers, J. D., Characklis, W. G. (1982). “Processes governing primary biofilm formation.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 24(11), 2451–2476.
Castegnier, F., Ross, N., Chapuis, R. P., Deschênes, L., and Samson, R. (2006). “Long-term persistence of a nutrient-starved biofilm in a limestone fracture.” Water Res., 40(5), 925–934.
Clementz, D. M, Patterson, D. E., Aseltine, R. J., and Young, R. E. (1982). “Stimulation of water injection wells in the Los Angeles basin by using sodium hypochlorite and mineral acids.” J. Pet. Technol., 34(9), 2087–2096.
Cooke, A. J., Rowe, R. K., Rittmann, B. E., VanGulck, J., and Millward, S. (2001). “Biofilm growth and mineral precipitation in synthetic leachate columns.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 849–856.
Costerton, J. W., et al. (1987). “Bacterial biofilms in nature and disease.” Ann. Rev. Microbiol., 41(1), 435–464.
Cunningham, A. B., Characklis, W. G., Abedeen, F., and Crawford, D. (1991). “Influence of biofilm accumulation on porous media hydrodynamics.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 25(7), 1305–1311.
Cunningham, A. B., Sharp, R. R., Hilbert, R., and James, G. (2003). “Subsurface biofilm barriers for the containment and remediation of contaminated groundwater.” Biorem. J., 7(3–4), 151–164.
Decho, A. W. (1999). “Chemical communication within microbial biofilms: Chemotaxis ad quorum sensing in bacterial cells.” Microbial extracellular polymeric substances, J. Wingender, T. R. Neu, and H. C. Flemming, eds., Springer, Berlin, 155–169.
DeJong, J. T., et al. (2011). “Soil engineering in vivo: Harnessing natural biogeochemical systems for sustainable, multi-functional engineering solutions.” J. R. Soc. Interface, 8(54), 1–15.
DeJong, J. T., et al. (2013). “Biogeochemical processes and geotechnical applications: Progress, opportunities and challenges.” Géotechnique, 63(4), 287–301.
DeJong, J. T., Mortensen, M. B., Martinez, B. C., and Nelson, D. C. (2010). “Biomediated soil improvement.” Ecol. Eng., 36(2), 197–210.
Dennis, M., and Turner, J. (1998). “Hydraulic conductivity of compacted soil treated with biofilm.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 120–127.
Frankenberger, W. T., Troeh, F. R., and Dumenil, L. C. (1979). “Bacterial effects on hydraulic conductivity of soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 43(2), 333–338.
Gupta, R. P., and Schwartzendruber, D. (1962). “Flow-associated reduction in the hydraulic conductivity of quartz sand.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 26(1), 6–10.
Holtz, R. D., Kovacs, W. D., and Sheahan, T. C. (2011). An introduction to geotechnical engineering, 2nd Ed., Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Hoskins, B. C., Fevang, L., Majors, P. D., Sharma, M. M., and Georgiou, G. (1999). “Selective imaging of biofilms in porous media by NMR relaxation.” J. Mag. Reson., 139(1), 67–73.
Ivanov, V., and Chu, J. (2008). “Applications of microorganisms to geotechnical engineering for bioclogging and biocementation of soil in situ.” Rev. Environ. Sci. Bio/Technol., 7(2), 139–153.
Karol, R. H. (2003). Chemical grouting and soil stabilization, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Kavazanjian, E., and Karatas, I. (2008). “Microbiological improvement of the physical properties of soil.” Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO.
Lewandowski, Z., Beyenal, H., Myers, J., and Stookey, D. (2007). “The effect of detachment on biofilm structure and activity: The oscillating pattern of biofilm accumulation.” Water Sci. Technol., 55(8–9), 429–436.
McIsaac, R., and Rowe, R. K. (2007). “Clogging of gravel drainage layers permeated with landfill leachate.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1026–1039.
Mitchell, J. K., and Santamarina, J. C. (2005). “Biological considerations in geotechnical engineering.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1222–1233.
Nielsen, P. H., and Jahn, A. (1999). “Extraction of EPS.” Microbial extracellular polymeric substances, J. Wingender, T. R. Neu, and H. C. Flemming, eds., Springer, Berlin, 49–72.
Nielsen, P. H., Jahn, A., and Palmgren, R. (1997). “Conceptual model for production and composition of exopolymers in biofilms.” Water Sci. Technol., 36(1), 11–19.
Raiders, R. A., McInerny, M. J., Revus, D. E., Torbati, H. M., Knapp, R. M., and Jenneman, G. E. (1986). “Selectivity and depth of microbial plugging in Berea sandstone cores.” J. Ind. Microbiol., 1(3), 195–203.
Rittmann, B. E. (1993). “The significance of biofilms in porous media.” Water Resour. Res., 29(7), 2195–2202.
Ross, N., and Bickerton, G. (2002). “Application of biobarriers for groundwater containment at fractured bedrock sites.” Remed. J., 12(3), 5–21.
Rowe, R. K. (2005). “Long-term performance of contaminant barrier systems.” Geotechnique, 55(9), 631–678.
Schlichter, C. S. (1905). “Field measurements of the rate of movement of underground waters.” Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper, United States Geological Survey, Washington, DC.
Seagren, E. A., and Aydilek, A. H. (2010). “Biomediated geomechanical processes.” Environmental microbiology, 2nd Ed., R. Mitchell and J. D. Gu, eds., Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 319–348.
Sharp, R. R., Stoodley, P., Adgie, M., Gerlach, R., and Cunningham, A. (2005). “Visualization and characterization of dynamic patterns of flow, growth and activity of biofilms growing in porous media.” Water Sci. Technol., 52(7), 85–90.
Shaw, J. C., Bramhill, B., Wardlaw, N. C., and Costerton, J. W. (1985). “Bacterial fouling in a model core system.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 49(3), 693–701.
Sheng, G. P., Yu, H. Q., and Li, X. Y. (2010). “Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of microbial aggregates in biological wastewater treatment systems: A review.” Biotechnol. Adv., 28(6), 882–894.
Singh, R., Paul, D., and Jain, R. K. (2006). “Biofilms: Implications in bioremediation.” Trends Microbiol., 14(9), 389–397.
Stoodley, P., Boyle, J. D., DeBeer, D., and Lappin-Scott, H. M. (1999a). “Evolving perspectives of biofilm structure.” Biofouling, 14(1), 75–90.
Stoodley, P., Lewandowski, Z., Boyle, J. D., and Lappin-Scott, H. M. (1999b). “Structural deformation of bacterial biofilms caused by short-term fluctuations in fluid shear: An in situ investigation of biofilm rheology.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 65(1), 83–92.
Stoodley, P., Sauer, K., Davies, D. G., and Costerton, J. W. (2002). “Biofilms as complex differentiated communities.” Ann. Rev. Microbiol., 56(1), 187–209.
Taylor, S. W., and Jaffé, P. R. (1990a). “Biofilm growth and the related changes in the physical properties of a porous medium. 1: Experimental investigation.” Water Resour. Res., 26(9), 2153–2159.
Taylor, S. W., and Jaffé, P. R. (1990b). “Substrate and biomass transport in a porous medium.” Water Resour. Res., 26(9), 2181–2194.
Taylor, S. W., Lange, C. R., and Lesold, E. A. (1997). “Biofouling of contaminated ground-water recovery wells: Characterization of microorganisms.” Ground Water, 35(6), 973–980.
Vandevivere, P., and Baveye, P. (1992). “Saturated hydraulic conductivity reduction caused by aerobic bacteria in sand columns.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 56(1), 1–13.
Vigneswaran, S., and Suazo, R. B. (1987). “A detailed investigation of physical and biological clogging during artificial recharge.” Water Air Soil Pollut., 35(1–2), 119–140.
Wingender, J., Neu, T. R., and Flemming, H. C. (1999). “What are bacterial extracellular polymeric substances?” Microbial extracellular polymeric substances, Springer, Berlin, 1–19.
Wolfaardt, G. M., Lawrence, J. R., and Korber, D. R. (1999). “Functions of EPS.” Microbial extracellular polymeric substances, J. Wingender, T. R. Neu, and H. C. Flemming, eds., Springer, Berlin, 171–200.
Xanthakos, P. P., Abramson, L. W., and Bruce, D. A. (1994). Ground control and improvement, Wiley, New York.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 12 • December 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 24, 2015
Accepted: Apr 12, 2016
Published online: Jul 18, 2016
Published in print: Dec 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Dec 18, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.