Bio-Cementation via Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation for Surface Applications: The Effects of Sand Particle Size on Uniformity and Strength
Publication: Geo-Congress 2024
ABSTRACT
The use of biological methods to improve the mechanical characteristics of geomaterials has gained popularity recently. The utilization of the enzyme “urease,” when produced by a microbe, which causes the breakdown of urea and leads to the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) when mixed with calcium, is known as microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). MICP is a promising approach for surface soil strengthening. Previous studies have shown that finer soil contents can affect the uniformity of bio-cementation distribution through the soil sample, and thus its strength properties. The objective of this study was to analyze bio-cementation via MICP in various sand mediums, ranging from coarse to fine particle size and ranging from uniformly to well-graded. Sakrete medium commercial sand, Ottawa sand, and silica silt were used at different percentages to produce samples for treatment. Results conclude that well-graded sand compositions created stronger, more brittle samples than compared to poor-graded compositions and larger particle sand sizes. Additional testing needs to be done on finer sand particles as well as current sands to verify previous results before further testing can be done on varying soil compositions.
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Information
Published In
Geo-Congress 2024
Pages: 186 - 195
History
Published online: Feb 22, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- [Inorganic compounds]
- Calcium carbonate
- Chemicals
- Chemistry
- Climates
- Earth materials
- Environmental engineering
- Geomaterials
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Meteorology
- Microbes
- Organic compounds
- Organisms
- Particle size distribution
- Pollution
- Precipitation
- Sandy soils
- Soil mechanics
- Soil pollution
- Soil properties
- Soil strength
- Soil treatment
- Soils (by type)
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