Stimulation of Indigenous Carbonate Precipitating Bacteria for Ground Improvement

Adharsh Rajasekar, Charles K.S. Moy, Stephen Wilkinson

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Calcite minerals are precipitated in soil through biomineralisation which can be either organic or inorganic in nature. Biomineralisation can be employed to improve ground conditions in its natural state. Usually, studies of applied biomineralisation are highly interdisciplinary involving expertise from engineers, chemists and microbiologists. In this paper, we study the potential of biomineralisation from indigenous bacteria present in soil. The soil samples were collected from a high permeable zone and the bacteria that inhabit the soil were stimulated at a temperature of 15°C. A cementation solution consisting of 500mM calcium chloride, urea and nutrient broth at a pH of 7.5 was added to the soil samples. Inorganic precipitation was found to be dominant and was more efficient when compared to organic precipitation. Carbonate precipitation data indicated that inorganic precipitation were 1.37 times better at carbonate formation in comparison to organic precipitation. Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis identified cementation bonds formed between soil particles. It was deducted that organic precipitation is dependent on temperature, and may take an extended time at such low temperature. The preliminary data presented in this paper suggests that the implementation of biomineralisation with in-situ microbes is promising but requires further laboratory and field investigation before being considered for engineering application.

Original languageEnglish
Article number012010
JournalIOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Volume68
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 May 2017
Event2017 3rd International Conference on Advances in Environment Research, ICAER 2017 - Beijing, China
Duration: 23 May 201725 May 2017

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