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Microbial Bio-Grouting for Underground Constructions: Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Submarine Engineering

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 7711

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chuangzhou Wu

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Guest Editor

Institute of Port, Coastal, and Offshore Engineering, Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, China
Interests: biocementation of sands to enhance bearing capacity and liquefaction resistance; sequestration of carbon; soil erosion control; remediation of soil and groundwater impacted by metals and radionuclides

Dr. Lei Wang

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Guest Editor

Civil Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, China
Interests: biocementation of sands to enhance bearing capacity and liquefaction resistance; soil erosion control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With increasing population and civil infrastructure demands worldwide, the availability of suitable soil sites for construction continues to decrease and ground improvement is now an integral part of modern development. Microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) uses naturally occurring bacteria to bind soil particles together through calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) precipitation to increase the strength of soil. It is a promising new technology in the area of geotechnical engineering with the potential to become a cost-effective, environmentally friendly and sustainable solution to many problems such as ground improvement, liquefaction remediation, sequestration of carbon, etc.

MICP is a cross-disciplinary subject that includes biological, chemical and geotechnical knowledge. It is closely related to subject areas of sustainability, as MICP has great potential for energy saving and CO₂ emission. The aim of the Special Issue is to provide a space for scientists to present their new research findings or advances on MICP, and also a good chance to communicate with each other, in order to promote the development of MICP.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas include, for example, different processes of microbially induced calcite precipitation.

Many processes that contribute to calcite precipitation include urea hydrolysis, denitrification, sulphate reduction, inducing dolomite precipitation and iron reduction, inducing ankerite and other mixed mineral precipitation. Enzymatic hydrolysis of urea by microbes is the most energy-efficient of these processes

Applications of MICP:

Biocementation of sands to enhance bearing capacity and liquefaction resistance;
Sequestration of carbon;
Soil erosion control;
Remediation of soil and groundwater impacted by metals and radionuclides.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Chuangzhou Wu
Dr. Lei Wang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

biocementation
MICP
fracture sealing
erosion control

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 7630 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of New Bio-Cement Method for Sand Foundation Reinforcement

by Jinzheng Sun, Zhichao Song, Rongzheng Zhang, Danyi Shen and Chuangzhou Wu

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9432; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129432 - 12 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1207

Abstract

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a new method used in recent years to improve the soil. However, this method still faces challenges related to low grouting reinforcement strength and efficiency. In this study, both the bio-cement infiltration method and bio-cement mixed method for sand foundation were proposed, and physical model tests were conducted to investigate the mechanical properties of sand treated with the bio-cement method. The results showed that the bio-cement maximized the utilization rate of bacterial liquid and reduced the waste caused by the loss of bacteria compared with traditional methods. Both the size of the reinforced area and bearing capacity of the sand reinforced by bio-cement infiltration method were controlled by the volume ratio of the bio-cement, calcareous sand powder, and the inflow rate. The maximum bearing capacity was 125 N when using a mixture of bio-cement and calcareous sand powder with a ratio of 400/80, with an inflow rate of 20 mL/min. The UCS of the sand reinforced by the bio-cement mixed method gradually decreased from 3.44 MPa to 0.88 MPa with depth, but increased with increasing CaCO₃ content. The CaCO₃ crystals were primarily concentrated at the contact point between the particles, and the formed crystals were mainly polyhedral. Reduction in the CaCO₃ content mainly occurred in the central deep part of the reinforcement area. The result provides an experimental basis for the use of bio-cement in the reinforcement of sand soil foundations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bio-Grouting for Underground Constructions: Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Submarine Engineering)

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15 pages, 10453 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reinforcement Mechanism and Erosion Resistance of Loess Slope Using Enzyme Induced Calcite Precipitation Technique

by Danyi Shen, Zhenyuan Liu, Zhichao Song and Chuangzhou Wu

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1044; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021044 - 6 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2006

Abstract

The disaster of loess slope seriously threatened the safety of people and property. Enzyme Induced Calcite Precipitation (EICP) was demonstrated as an environmentally friendly soil improvement method. However, few studies have focused on the improvement effect of EICP on loess slopes. In this study, a series of tests were conducted to investigate the effect of EICP and added either basalt fiber (BF) to the loess or polyvinyl acetate emulsion (PVAC) to the solution on the erosion resistance of loess slopes. The results showed that all of the EICP, EICP-BF, and EICP-PVAC treatments could improve surface strength (SS). The addition of 50 g/L PVAC achieved high SS because the network structure formed by PVAC promoted the affixation of CaCO₃. The thickness of the crust layer decreased with the increasing BF content or PVAC concentration. With the increasing number of EICP treatment cycles, the CaCO₃ content increased progressively, but the increase rate decreased. For rainfall erosion, the time until erosion occurred was delayed and the stability was improved for loess slopes treated with EICP, EICP-BF, and EICP-PVAC. The high erosion resistance of loess slopes treated with EICP-0.5% BF, EICP-30 g/L PVAC, and EICP-50 g/L PVAC was attributed to the stable spatial structure formed by CaCO₃ precipitation and the additional cementation provided by high BF content and PVAC concentration. The addition of 0.5% BF effectively inhibited the development of surface cracks in loess slope after dry–wet cycles. With the increasing number of dry–wet cycles, the accumulative loess loss weight of slopes treated with various methods increased gradually. Among all treatment methods, the number of dry–wet cycles had less effect on EICP-30 g/L PVAC treated loess slopes. This study provided guidance for loess slopes prevention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bio-Grouting for Underground Constructions: Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Submarine Engineering)

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17 pages, 5674 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison between MICP-Based Bio-Cementation Versus Traditional Portland Cementation for Oil-Contaminated Soil Stabilisation

by Jie Yin, Jian-Xin Wu, Ke Zhang, Mohamed A. Shahin and Liang Cheng

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010434 - 27 Dec 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2128

Abstract

In recent years, oil spills and leakages have often occurred during oil exploration, transportation, handling, usage, and processing, causing serious global environmental problems. Microbially-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an emerging green, environmentally friendly, and sustainable technology that has proven to be a promising alternative for soil stabilisation. This paper provides a comparison between the mechanical performance of oil-polluted sand treated with biocement and traditional Portland cement. A series of laboratory tests, including permeability, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and triaxial consolidated undrained (CU) tests, was conducted. Even though oil contamination deteriorates the bonding strength of treated soil for both biocement and Portland cement soils, the biocement-treated oil-contaminated sand was found to achieve higher strength (up to four times) than cement-treated soil in the presence of similar content of cementing agent. After eight treatment cycles, the UCS value of oil-contaminated sand treated with biocement reached 1 MPa, demonstrating a high potential for oil-contaminated soil stabilisation in regions of oil spills and leakages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bio-Grouting for Underground Constructions: Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Submarine Engineering)

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12 pages, 2458 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Urease Production Capacity of a Novel Salt-Tolerant Staphylococcusxylosus Strain through Response Surface Modeling

by Yunxiu He, Yuan Zhao, Wen Zhang, Yurong Zhang and Yi Zou

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13623; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013623 - 21 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1464

Abstract

Encouraging advances have been made in the application of microbial mineralization towards fixing and improving desertified sandy soils. However, desert soils in arid areas exhibit high salinity that may limit urease activity and production in microbial strains, thereby affecting the solidification effects of microbial calcium binders in saline soils. In this study, a salt-tolerant microbial strain (A80) that produced urease was identified from saline soils of the Qaidam Basin. The culture conditions of the strain were optimized using single-factor tests and response surface methods to optimize urease yields and activity. The optimal composition of the A80 medium included an inoculation amount of 6.32% (V/V), a yeast extract powder concentration of 15.43 g/L, a glucose concentration of 5.20 g/L, a salinity of 3%, and an incubation temperature of 36 °C. Urease activity increased by 64.80% after using optimized medium. The A80 microbial calcium-cementing agent was also used to solidify saline soils, leading to an increased unconfined compressive strength of the solidified saline soil by 25.70%. Thus, the optimization method resulted in improvements in the cultivation of a salt-tolerant strain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Bio-Grouting for Underground Constructions: Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Submarine Engineering)

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