Applications of Microbial Processes in Geotechnical Engineering

Mountassir, Gráinne El; Minto, James M.; Paassen, Leon A. van; Salifu, Emmanuel; Lunn, Rebecca

doi:10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.05.001

Cited by 59 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 196 publications

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“…Engineered (bio)mineralization or ureolysis‐induced calcium carbonate precipitation (UICP) techniques (Equation [1]) have been an increasingly popular area of research for use in ground improvement, construction materials, remediation, and subsurface applications 1‐8 . In fact, ground improvement with mineralization strategies has been studied extensively resulting in a new field of study described as bio‐mediated geotechnics 2,9‐13 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature‐dependent inactivation and catalysis rates of plant‐based ureases for engineered biomineralization

Feder

Akyel

Morasko

et al. 2020

Engineering Reports

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Engineered (bio)mineralization uses the enzyme urease to catalyze the hydrolysis of urea to promote carbonate mineral precipitation. The current study investigates the influence of temperature on ureolysis rate and degree of inactivation of plant‐sourced ureases over a range of environmentally relevant temperatures. Batch experiments at 30°C demonstrated that jack bean meal (JBM) has a 1.7 to 56 times higher activity (844 μmol urea hydrolyzed g−1 JBM min−1) than the other tested plant‐sourced ureases (soybean, pigeon pea and cottonseed). Hence, ureolysis and enzyme inactivation rates were evaluated for JBM at temperatures between 20°C and 80°C. A combined first‐order urea hydrolysis and first‐order enzyme inactivation model described the inactivation of urease over the investigated range of temperatures. The temperature‐dependent rate coefficients (kurea) increased with temperature and ranged from 0.0018 at 20°C to 0.0249 L g−1 JBM min−1 at 80°C; JBM urease became ≥50% inactivated in as little as 5.2 minutes at 80°C and in as long as 2238 minutes at 50°C. The combined urea hydrolysis kinetics and enzyme inactivation model provides a mathematical relationship useful for the design of biomineralization technologies and can be incorporated into reactive transport models.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature‐dependent inactivation and catalysis rates of plant‐based ureases for engineered biomineralization

Feder

Akyel

Morasko

et al. 2020

Engineering Reports

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“…Many studies showed that the strength of bio‐cemented soils is positively related to the amount of calcium carbonate precipitated (Montoya and DeJong 2015; El Mountassir et al . 2018). Moreover higher

E_{P}

can reduce the cost of application by reducing the number of injections into the biotreated ground and the content of cementation solution.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation via methanogenesis pathway by a microbial consortium enriched from activated anaerobic sludge

Yang

2020

J. Appl. Microbiol.

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Aims Various applications of microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) has been proposed. However, most studies use cultured pure strains to obtain MICP, ignoring advantages of microbial consortia. The aims of this study were to: (i) test the feasibility of a microbial consortium to produce MICP; (ii) identify functional micro‐organisms and their relationship; (iii) explain the MICP mechanism; (iv) propose a way of applying the MICP technique to soil media. Methods and Results Anaerobic sludge was used as the source of the microbial consortium. A laboratory anaerobic sequencing batch reactor and beaker were used to perform precipitation experiment. The microbial consortium produced MICP with an efficiency of 96·6%. XRD and SEM analysis showed that the precipitation composed of different‐size calcite crystals. According to high‐throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the functional micro‐organisms included acetogenic bacteria, acetate‐oxidizing bacteria and archaea Methanosaeta and Methanobacterium beijingense. The methanogenesis acetate degradation provides dissolved inorganic carbon and increases pH for MICP. A series of reactions catalysed by many enzymes and cofactors of methanogens and acetate‐oxidizers are involved in the acetate degradation. Conclusion This work demonstrates the feasibility of using the microbial consortium to achieve MICP from an experimental and theoretical perspective. Significance and Impact of the Study A method of applying the microbial‐consortium MICP to soil media is proposed. It has the advantages of low cost, low environmental impact, treatment uniformity and less limitations from natural soils. This method could be used to improve mechanical properties, plug pores and fix harmful elements of soil media, etc.

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“…Bacteria are abundant in soil; for instance, in one gram of soil in top 1 m, there are approximately 2 × 10 9 bacteria, many of which can survive and thrive at deeper depths [105]. Over the last decade, there has been increasing attention over what microbial processes can offer to geotechnical engineering [106]. MICP is a bio-mediated process for precipitation of calcium carbonate [101], desirably at particle contact points.…”

Section: Microbial-induced Carbonate Precipitation (Micp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in Nature-Inspired Solutions for Ground Engineering (NiSE)

Assadi-Langroudi

O’Kelly

Barreto

et al. 2021

Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng.

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The ground is a natural grand system; it is composed of myriad constituents that aggregate to form several geologic and biogenic systems. These systems operate independently and interplay harmoniously via important networked structures over multiple spatial and temporal scales. This paper presents arguments and derivations couched by the authors, to first give a better understanding of these intertwined networked structures, and then to give an insight of why and how these can be imitated to develop a new generation of nature-symbiotic ground engineering techniques. The paper draws on numerous recent advances made by the authors, and others, in imitating forms (e.g. synthetic fibres that imitate plant roots), materials (e.g. living composite materials, or living soil that imitate fungi and microbes), generative processes (e.g. managed decomposition of construction rubble to mimic weathering of aragonites to calcites), and functions (e.g. recreating the self-healing, selfproducing, and self-forming capacity of natural systems). Advances are reported in three categories of Materials, Models, and Methods (3Ms). A novel value-based appraisal tool is also presented, providing a means to vet the effectiveness of 3Ms as standalone units or in combinations.

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Applications of Microbial Processes in Geotechnical Engineering

Cited by 59 publications

References 196 publications

Temperature‐dependent inactivation and catalysis rates of plant‐based ureases for engineered biomineralization

Temperature‐dependent inactivation and catalysis rates of plant‐based ureases for engineered biomineralization

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation via methanogenesis pathway by a microbial consortium enriched from activated anaerobic sludge

Recent Advances in Nature-Inspired Solutions for Ground Engineering (NiSE)

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