Application of Carrier Materials in Self-Healing Cement-Based Materials Based on Microbial-Induced Mineralization

Abstract

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) technology has attracted widespread research attention owing to its application in crack healing for cement-based materials in an intelligent and environmentally friendly manner. However, the high internal alkalinity, low nutrient content, and dense structure of cement-based materials have restricted its application in self-healing cement-based materials. Various carrier materials have been widely used for the immobilization of microorganisms in recent years. Carrier materials have significantly increased the ability of microorganisms to withstand extreme conditions (high temperature, high alkali, etc.) and have provided new ideas for the compatibility of microorganisms with cement-based materials. In this study, the basic principles of microbial self-healing technology in cement-based materials and microbial immobilization methods and the influencing factors are introduced, followed by a review of the research progress and application effects of different types of carrier materials, such as aggregate, low-alkali cementitious materials, organic materials, and microcapsules. Finally, the current problems and promising development directions of microbial carrier materials are summarized to provide useful references for the future development of microbial carriers and self-healing cement-based materials.

Synergistic biocementation: harnessing Comamonas and Bacillus ureolytic bacteria for enhanced sand stabilization

“…In a synergetic relationship, one species may be superior in urea hydrolysis; another may be more efficient in mineral nucleation, resulting in superior and efficient MICP performance. Previous studies on synergetic relationships usually focused on ureolytic bacteria with biochar (Xu et al 2023 ), fiber (Choi et al 2019 ), zeolite (Jafarnia et al 2020 ), or rubber (Feng et al 2022 ). Since most of the applications for MICP are in soil stabilization, crack healing, and preventing erosion, it would be highly encouraging if the bacterial synergistic relationships are performed in the presence of a carrier material (fiber, zeolite, or rubber) under challenging environmental conditions to provide long term sustainable solutions (Namdar-Khojasteh et al 2022 ; Leeprasert et al 2022 ; Pungrasmi et al 2019 ).…”

The Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Biomineralization Technology in Improving the Strength of Damaged Fiber-Reinforced LWAC

“…However, from an ecological conservation point of view, these materials are less friendly to the environment. In view of this, ecologically sound and sustainable biological system restoration technologies have become viable alternatives [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ]. Biomineralization is a widely occurring effect in nature [ 38 ].…”

“…Therefore, appropriate bacterial carriers must be selected [ 41 ]. At present, carriers are mainly divided into natural carrier materials and synthetic carrier materials [ 42 ]. Jonkes et al [ 43 ] studied the ability of alkali-resistant spore-forming bacteria to repair concrete cracks and confirmed that the potential application of bacterial spores as self-healing agents seems promising.…”

Experimental study on self-healing and mechanical properties of sisal fiber-loaded microbial concrete

“…The immobilization supports are typically comprised of inorganic porous materials, including expanded clay, perlite, diatomaceous earth, zeolite, etc. However, these materials carry fewer functional groups, rely on van der Waals forces, have weak bonds such as hydrogen and other weak bonds to fix microorganisms and ionic bonds, and have a weaker binding ability to microorganisms [18]. Recently, many researchers have employed fiber as a bacterial carrier for crack self-healing.…”