Abstract
In recent years, the method to produce bio-cementation in sand using bacterial calcium carbonate precipitation (BCCP) process has become more popular. The major objective of this research paper is to study the capability of BCCP to enhance the unconfined compressive strength of clayey soils. Two types of bacteria were used to generate calcium carbonate precipitation. The experimental design variables adopted in this study are bacteria types (L. fusiformis and S. pasteurii), soil types (low compressible clay and intermediate compressible clay), types of externally supplied calcium solution (calcium chloride and eggshell solution), molarities of cementing solution (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 M) and curing period (1, 3 and 7 days). The experimental test results showed that the BCCP process significantly improves the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of both soils. The improvement however varied with bacterial types, soil types, types of externally supplied calcium solution, molarities of cementing solution and curing period. In BCCP treatment, S. pasteurii treated soils give more strength than L. fusiformis because of high urease activity of S. pasteurii in the order 450 U/ml. The maximum improvement ratio was achieved in CL soil (2.51) compared to CI soil (2.26) due to particle sizes. The optimum externally supplied calcium solution and molarity of cementing medium were established as an eggshell solution and 0.50 M, respectively. The images from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis confirmed the experimental findings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asgari MR, Dezfuli AB, Bayat M (2015) Experimental study on stabilization of a low plasticity clayey soil with cement/lime. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 8(3):1439–1452, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-1173-1
Bhaduri S, Debnath N, Mitra S, Liu Y, Kumar A (2016) Microbiologically induced calcite precipitation mediated by Sporosarcina pasteurii. Journal of Visualized Experiments 110(4):1–7, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3791/53253
Canakci H, Sidik W, Kilic IH (2015) Bacterial calcium carbonate precipitation in peat. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering 40(8):2251–2260, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-015-1760-4
Casey B, Germaine JT, Abdulhadi NO, Kontopoulos NS, Jones CA (2016) Undrained young’s modulus of fine-grained soils. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 142(2):04015070–1-04015070-8, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001382
Cheng L, Cord-Ruwisch R, Shahin MA (2013) Cementation of sand soil by microbially induced calcite precipitation at various degrees of saturation. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 50(1):81–90, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2012-0023
Cheng L, Shahin MA, Cord-Ruwisch R (2014) Bio-cementation of sandy soil using microbially induced carbonate precipitation for marine environments. Geotechnique 64(12):1010–1013, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.14.T.025
Choi SG, Wu S, Chu J (2016) Biocementation for sand using an eggshell as calcium source. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 142(10), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001534
Chu J, Ivanov V, He J, Naeimi M, Li B, Stabnikov V (2011) Development of microbial geotechnology in Singapore. Geo-frontiers congress 2011, March 13–16, Dallas, TX, USA, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/41165(397)416
Chu J, Ivanov V, Naeimi M, Stabnikov V, Liu H (2013) Optimization of calcium-based bioclogging and biocementation of sand. Acta Geotechnica 9(2):277–285, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-013-0278-8
Gomez MG, Anderson CM, DeJong JT, Nelson DC, Lau XH (2014) Stimulating in-situ soil bacteria for bio-cementation of sands. Geocongress 2014, February 23–26, Atlanta, GA, USA, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784413272.164
Hammad IA, Talkhan FN, Zoheir AE (2013) Urease activity and induction of calcium carbonate precipitation by Sporosarcina pasteurii NCIMB 8841. Journal of Applied Sciences Research 9(3):1525–1533, https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86255009
Harichane K, Ghrici M, Kenai S, Grine K (2011) Use of natural pozzolana and lime for stabilization of cohesive soils. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 29(29):759–769, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-011-9415-z
Ivanov V, Chu J, Stabnikov V, Li B (2015) Strengthening of soft marine clay using bio-encapsulation. Marine Geosources & Geotechnology 33(4):320–324, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2013.877107
Keykha HA, Huat BK, Asadi A (2014) Electrokinetic stabilization of soft soil using carbonate-producing bacteria. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 32(4):739–747, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-014-9753-8
Kim D, Park K (2013) An environmentally friendly soil improvement technology with microorganism. IJR International Journal of Railway 6(3):90–94, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7782/IJR.2013.6.3.090
Lechtanski VL (2000) Calcium carbonate content of eggshell. Inquiry-Based Experiments in Chemistry, Oxford, NY, USA, 159–165
Li D, Tian K, Zhang H, Wu Y, Nie K, Zhang S (2018) Experimental investigation of solidifying desert aeolian sand using microbially induced calcite precipitation. Construction and Building Materials 172(5):251–262, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.255
Mitchell JK, Santamarina JC (2005) Biological considerations in geotechnical engineering. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 131(10):1222–1233, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2005)131:10(1222)
Mortensen BM, Haber MJ, DeJong JT, Caslake LF, Nelson DC (2011) Effects of environmental factors on microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation. Journal of Applied Microbiology 111(2):338–349, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2011.05065.x
Park K, Jun S, Kim D (2014) Effect of strength enhancement of soil treated with environmental-friendly calcium carbonate powder. The Scientific World Journal 3:1–11, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/526491
Sharma A, Ramkrishnan R (2016) Study on effect of Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitates on strength of fine grained soils. Perspectives in Science 8:198–202, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pisc.2016.03.017
Shreedhar S, Ramachandran AL, Meenu PS, Singh DN (2018) Investigations on the effects of microorganisms on coarse grained soil. In: Singh D, Galaa A (eds) GeoMEast: International congress and exhibition “Sustainable civil infrastructures: Innovative infrastructure geotechnology”, Springer, Berlin, Germany, 123–131, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61612-4_10
Sidik WS, Canakci H, Kilic IH, Celik F (2014) Applicability of biocementation for organic soil and its effect on permeability. Geomechanics and Engineering 7(6):649–663, DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/gae.2014.7.6.649
Soon NW, Lee LM, Khun TC, Ling HS (2013) Improvements in engineering properties of soils through microbial-induced calcite precipitation. KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 17(5):718–728, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-013-0149-8
Strozyk J, Tankiewicz M (2016) The elastic undrained modulus Eu50 for stiff consolidated clays related to the concept of stress history and normalized soil properties. Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica, Oficyna 38(3):67–72, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sgem-2016-0025
van Paassen LA, Ghose R, van der Linden TJM, van der Star WRL, van Loosdrecht MCM (2010) Quantifying biomediated ground improvement by ureolysis: Large-scale bio-grout experiment. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 136(12):1721–1728, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000382
Yasuhara H, Neupane D, Hayashi K, Okamura M (2012) Experiments and predictions of physical properties of sand cemented by enzymatically-induced carbonate precipitation. Soils and Foundations 52(3):539–549, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2012.05.011
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kulanthaivel, P., Soundara, B. & Das, A. Performance Study on Stabilization of Fine Grained Clay Soils Using Calcium Source Producing Microbes. KSCE J Civ Eng 24, 2631–2642 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-020-2028-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-020-2028-4