Research status and development of microbial induced calcium carbonate mineralization technology

Abstract

In nature, biomineralization is a common phenomenon, which can be further divided into authigenic and artificially induced mineralization. In recent years, artificially induced mineralization technology has been gradually extended to major engineering fields. Therefore, by elaborating the reaction mechanism and bacteria of mineralization process, and summarized various molecular dynamics equations involved in the mineralization process, including microbial and nutrient transport equations, microbial adsorption equations, growth equations, urea hydrolysis equations, and precipitation equations. Because of the environmental adaptation stage of microorganisms in sandy soil, their reaction rate in sandy soil environment is slower than that in solution environment, the influencing factors are more different, in general, including substrate concentration, temperature, pH, particle size and grouting method. Based on the characteristics of microbial mineralization such as strong cementation ability, fast, efficient, and easy to control, there are good prospects for application in sandy soil curing, building improvement, heavy metal fixation, oil reservoir dissection, and CO2 capture. Finally, it is discussed and summarized the problems and future development directions on the road of commercialization of microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation technology from laboratory to field application.

State-of-the-Art Review on Engineering Uses of Calcium Phosphate Compounds: An Eco-Friendly Approach for Soil Improvement

“…It was first discovered by Bouquet in 1973, who explored the formation of crystals by soil bacteria cultivated on solid media [ 18 ]. However, the term “microbe-induced calcium carbonate precipitation” itself was not coined until 2004 by Wiffin [ 19 , 20 ].…”

“…Appropriate bacteria for initiating biocementation need to be non-toxic, mineralization tolerant, and resilient to survive in the present soil environment [ 21 ]. Microorganisms of natural origin that can induce calcium carbonate precipitation include cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, methane oxidizing bacteria, denitrifying bacteria, ammonifying bacteria, and the most studied, urease-producing bacteria [ 4 , 19 , 22 ]. The most suitable bacteria for MICP to date are ureolytic bacteria, particularly, Sporosarcina pasteurii ; due to the electronegativity of their walls, the bacteria easily attaches to soil particles and can provide nuclear sites for calcite precipitation [ 23 ].…”

“…Various factors affect the calcium carbonate formation pathway and bacterial performance including the type of bacteria, concentration of microorganisms, calcium ratio, presence of nucleation sites, enzymatic activity, temperature, grouting method, injection flow rate, pH, presence of nutrients, and calcium ions in the environment [ 4 , 19 , 21 , 22 , 24 ]. Different species of bacteria require different conditions for growth and reproduction, but for most, the optimal conditions are as follows: temperature 20–37 °C, pH 6.5–9, curing time—14 days, concentrations of urea and calcium ion—0.5 mol/L, injection frequency—once per day [ 4 , 19 , 21 , 22 , 25 , 26 ].…”

“…MICP can solve a range of important geotechnical and environmental challenges such as soil reinforcement, reducing the risk of ground degradation to landslides, preventing liquefaction during earthquakes, stabilizing oil, the production of bio-concrete materials, heavy metal and radionuclide retention, sewage treatment, concrete repair, the modification of mortar, tunnel wall stabilization, enhance oil recoverability and reservoir profile control as well as water plugging, CO 2 capture, and storage [ 4 , 19 , 22 , 23 , 27 ].…”

“…By applying some species of bacteria to the soil, atmospheric CO 2 levels can be reduced. These bacteria do not produce nitrogen-based by-products, making them more environmentally friendly [ 19 ]. The following bacteria have the potential to be used: sulfate-reducing bacteria increases the transformation rate of CO 2 into solid minerals [ 30 ], cyanobacteria during MICP absorb CO 2 from the air and utilize it to precipitate CaCO 3 [ 31 ], and bacillus mucilaginous produces carbonic anhydrase, which can remove CO 2 from the air to precipitate CaCO 3 [ 32 ].…”