Microbial-Induced Desaturation in Stratified Soil Conditions

Abstract

A feasibility study was performed to assess the potential of microbially induced desaturation and precipitation (MIDP) through denitrification to reduce the risk of earthquake-induced liquefaction and improve the resilience of embankments along the lower Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The denitrification process produces nitrogen gas, which gradually desaturates the soil, and dissolved inorganic carbon, which in presence of dissolved calcium results in precipitation of calcium carbonate minerals, cementing the soil particles. The trapped gas bubbles dampens pore pressure build-up during cyclic loading. Consequently, microbially induced desaturation (MID) the first phase of the MIDP process, has great potential as soil improvement technique, especially for liquefaction mitigation, independently from the precipitation phase of the process. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effect of biogenic gas formation on the mechanical response for treated sand samples at lab scale. However, there is still limited knowledge on the impact of partial desaturation on the hydraulic properties of the treated sediments and the durability of the entrapped gas phase, particularly in naturally stratified and heterogenous formations. This is important because changes in porosity and hydraulic conductivity may affect the injection flow patterns and distribution of substrates and products in the subsurface. The objective of this study was to develop a test procedure to evaluate the applicability and performance of the MID technique in stratified subsurface conditions. The study involved a two-dimensional model (2D) tank set-up, in which substrates were laterally injected and extracted. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of treatment and showed how gas formation, migration and entrapment and resulting degree of desaturation and hydraulic conductivity are affected by stratifications in a natural soil.

A (Simplified) Biogeochemical Numerical Model to Predict Saturation, Porosity and Permeability During Microbially Induced Desaturation and Precipitation

“…The percolation threshold saturation was not defined by Wang, Van Paassen, Gao, et al. (2020), but other tests (Pham, Van Paassen, & Van der Star, 2018; Stallings Young et al., 2021) reported the water saturation at which gas started to migrate and no further desaturation was obtained, ranging between 50% and 80%.…”

“…In natural sediments it may be difficult to get a precise value for S v , due to the heterogeneity of the pore structure. For example, in a sandy-silt stratified soil system this threshold may be higher as silt lenses can prevent upward migration of gas and cause the gas phase to spread laterally (Stallings Young et al, 2021). Thus, the change in liquid fraction is described using:…”

“…In natural sediments it may be difficult to get a precise value for S v , due to the heterogeneity of the pore structure. For example, in a sandy‐silt stratified soil system this threshold may be higher as silt lenses can prevent upward migration of gas and cause the gas phase to spread laterally (Stallings Young et al., 2021). Thus, the change in liquid fraction is described using: $$$\left\{\begin{array}{ll}\frac{\partial {\theta }_{l}}{\partial t}=\frac{\partial {\theta }_{{l}_{{\mathrm{N}}_{2}}}}{\partial t}+\frac{\partial {\theta }_{{l}_{\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{O}}_{2}}}}{\partial t},\hfill & if\,{\theta }_{l}\le {\theta \cdot S}_{\mathrm{v}}\hfill \\ \frac{\partial {\theta }_{l}}{\partial t}=0\hfill & if\,{\theta }_{l}={\theta \cdot S}_{\mathrm{v}}\hfill \end{array}\right.$$$ …”

“…Venting gas only changes the amount of soil sample but not the backpressure system while diffusion through membrane changes it in the backpressure system. The percolation threshold saturation was not defined by Wang, Van Paassen, Gao, et al (2020), but other tests Stallings Young et al, 2021) reported the water saturation at which gas started to migrate and no further desaturation was obtained, ranging between 50% and 80%.…”

Induced Partial Saturation Using Pseudomonas stutzeri Biogas for Mitigate Structure Settlement

“…Then, He et al [27] confirmed that nitrogen bubbles that were produced by bacteria can effectively reduce the saturation and improve the liquefaction resistance of soil through triaxial testing. Larger scale experiments, including field trials on microbial-induced desaturation, have been performed [29,30]. Li [31] pointed out that nitrogen bubbles lacked stability under the conditions of groundwater seepage and, therefore, proposed a new method to deal with the liquefaction resistance of liquefiable soil.…”