A revised model for microbially induced calcite precipitation: Improvements and new insights based on recent experiments

The model for microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) published by Ebigbo et al. (2012) has been improved based on new insights obtained from experiments and model calibration. The challenge in constructing a predictive model for permeability reduction in the underground with MICP is the quantification of the complex interaction between flow, transport, biofilm growth, and reaction kinetics. New data from Lauchnor et al. (2015) on whole-cell ureolysis kinetics from batch experiments were incorporated into the model, which has allowed for a more precise quantification of the relevant parameters as well as a simplification of the reaction kinetics in the equations of the model. Further, the model has been calibrated objectively by inverse modeling using quasi-1D column experiments and a radial flow experiment. From the postprocessing of the inverse modeling, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis has been performed with focus on the model input parameters that were fitted in the course of the model calibration. It reveals that calcite precipitation and concentrations of NH4+ and Ca2+ are particularly sensitive to parameters associated with the ureolysis rate and the attachment behavior of biomass. Based on the determined sensitivities and the ranges of values for the estimated parameters in the inversion, it is possible to identify focal areas where further research can have a high impact toward improving the understanding and engineering of MICP.

[1]  R. Chamy,et al.  Kinetic models for nitrification inhibition by ammonium and nitrite in a suspended and an immobilised biomass systems , 2004 .

[2]  Cornelis Vuik,et al.  A mathematical model for Biogrout , 2013, Computational Geosciences.

[3]  Rainer Helmig,et al.  Darcy‐scale modeling of microbially induced carbonate mineral precipitation in sand columns , 2012 .

[4]  A. Mitchell,et al.  Design of a Meso-Scale High Pressure Vessel for the Laboratory Examination of Biogeochemical Subsurface Processes , 2015 .

[5]  R. Mateles.  Calculation of the oxygen required for cell production. , 1971, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[6]  H. S. Fogler,et al.  Effects of pH and Trace Minerals on Long-Term Starvation of Leuconostoc mesenteroides , 2000, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[7]  Tian C. Zhang,et al.  Density, porosity, and pore structure of biofilms , 1994 .

[8]  F. Millero,et al.  The dissociation of carbonic acid in NaCl solutions as a function of concentration and temperature , 2007 .

[9]  J. Renshaw,et al.  Controls on the rate of ureolysis and the morphology of carbonate precipitated by S. Pasteurii biofilms and limits due to bacterial encapsulation , 2012 .

[10]  I. Butler,et al.  Inhibition of Sporosarcina pasteurii under anoxic conditions: implications for subsurface carbonate precipitation and remediation via ureolysis. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[11]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Potential CO2 leakage reduction through biofilm-induced calcium carbonate precipitation. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[12]  M. Cuthbert,et al.  A field and modeling study of fractured rock permeability reduction using microbially induced calcite precipitation. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[13]  J. Renshaw,et al.  Comparison of rates of ureolysis between Sporosarcina pasteurii and an indigenous groundwater community under conditions required to precipitate large volumes of calcite , 2011 .

[14]  Simulations of Microbial-Enhanced Oil Recovery: Adsorption and Filtration , 2014, Transport in Porous Media.

[15]  R. Compton,et al.  The dissolution of calcite in acid waters: mass transport versus surface control , 1989 .

[16]  Alain Liné,et al.  Effect of shear stress and growth conditions on detachment and physical properties of biofilms. , 2011, Water research.

[17]  Steffen Müthing,et al.  DuMux: DUNE for multi-{phase,component,scale,physics,…} flow and transport in porous media , 2011 .

[18]  R. Garrels,et al.  Comparative study of the kinetics and mechanisms of dissolution of carbonate minerals , 1989 .

[19]  R. Gerlach,et al.  Whole cell kinetics of ureolysis by Sporosarcina pasteurii , 2015, Journal of applied microbiology.

[20]  M. Tabatabai,et al.  Urease activity of microbial biomass in soils , 1999 .

[21]  Shaojun Zhong,et al.  Calcite and aragonite precipitation from seawater solutions of various salinities: Precipitation rates and overgrowth compositions , 1989 .

[22]  M. Alexander,et al.  Effect of bacterial density and substrate concentration on yield coefficients , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[23]  P. Liss,et al.  Ammonia/ammonium dissociation coefficient in seawater: A significant numerical correction , 2007 .

[24]  Cornelis Vuik,et al.  Modelling Biogrout: A New Ground Improvement Method Based on Microbial-Induced Carbonate Precipitation , 2011 .

[25]  B. C. Martinez,et al.  Bio-geochemical reactive transport modeling of microbial induced calcite precipitation to predict the treatment of sand in one-dimensional flow , 2014 .

[26]  Ignacio Lira,et al.  Interferometric measurement of a diffusion coefficient: comparison of two methods and uncertainty analysis , 2007 .

[27]  A. Holeyman,et al.  Estimation of laboratory-scale dispersivities using an annulus-and-core device , 2008 .

[28]  D. Bernard,et al.  A new numerical model for pore scale dissolution of calcite due to CO2 saturated water flow in 3D realistic geometry: Principles and first results , 2009 .

[29]  H. Blanch,et al.  The half‐saturation coefficient for dissolved oxygen: A dynamic method for its determination and its effect on dual species competition , 1983, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[30]  J. Bryers,et al.  Toluene degradation kinetics for planktonic and biofilm-grown cells of Pseudomonas putida 54G. , 1997, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[31]  S. Bang,et al.  Microbiological precipitation of CaCO3 , 1999 .

[32]  Vernon R. Phoenix,et al.  Kinetics of calcite precipitation induced by ureolytic bacteria at 10 to 20°C in artificial groundwater , 2004 .

[33]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Bacterially induced calcium carbonate precipitation and strontium coprecipitation in a porous media flow system. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[34]  Robin Gerlach,et al.  Construction of two ureolytic model organisms for the study of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation. , 2013, Journal of microbiological methods.

[35]  T. Vogel,et al.  Comparison of substrate utilization and growth kinetics between immobilized and suspended Pseudomonas cells , 1993, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[36]  B. Krajewska.  Ureases I. Functional, catalytic and kinetic properties: A review , 2009 .

[37]  L. Melo.  Biofilm physical structure, internal diffusivity and tortuosity , 2005 .

[38]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Engineered applications of ureolytic biomineralization: a review , 2013, Biofouling.

[39]  R. Lavecchia,et al.  Kinetic Study of Enzymatic Urea Hydrolysis in the pH Range 4-9 , 2003 .

[40]  S. A. Finsterle.  iTOUGH2 Universal Optimization Using the PEST Protocol , 2010 .

[41]  Manfred Wolf,et al.  Solubility of calcite in different electrolytes at temperatures between 10° and 60°C and at CO2 partial pressures of about 1 kPa , 1989 .

[42]  Stewart W. Taylor,et al.  Substrate and biomass transport in a porous medium , 1990 .

[43]  George D. O. Okwadha,et al.  Optimum conditions for microbial carbonate precipitation. , 2010, Chemosphere.

[44]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Microbial CaCO3 mineral formation and stability in an experimentally simulated high pressure saline aquifer with supercritical CO2. , 2013 .

[45]  S. Walker,et al.  Transport and fate of bacteria in porous media: Coupled effects of chemical conditions and pore space geometry , 2008 .

[46]  J. Warmington,et al.  Urease activity in microbiologically-induced calcite precipitation. , 2002, Journal of biotechnology.

[47]  Peter J. Milne,et al.  The solubility of calcite, strontianite and witherite in NaCl solutions at 25°C , 1984 .

[48]  B. C. Martinez,et al.  Forward and Inverse Bio-Geochemical Modeling of Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation in Half-Meter Column Experiments , 2011 .

[49]  Michael Whitfield,et al.  A chemical model of seawater including dissolved ammonia and the stoichiometric dissociation constant of ammonia in estuarine water and seawater from −2 to 40°C , 1995 .

[50]  Rainer Helmig,et al.  Modelling biofilm growth in the presence of carbon dioxide and water flow in the subsurface , 2010 .

[51]  M. Heldal,et al.  On the relation between dry matter and volume of bacteria , 1987, Microbial Ecology.