Engineered applications of ureolytic biomineralization: a review

Microbially-induced calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation (MICP) is a widely explored and promising technology for use in various engineering applications. In this review, CaCO3 precipitation induced via urea hydrolysis (ureolysis) is examined for improving construction materials, cementing porous media, hydraulic control, and remediating environmental concerns. The control of MICP is explored through the manipulation of three factors: (1) the ureolytic activity (of microorganisms), (2) the reaction and transport rates of substrates, and (3) the saturation conditions of carbonate minerals. Many combinations of these factors have been researched to spatially and temporally control precipitation. This review discusses how optimization of MICP is attempted for different engineering applications in an effort to highlight the key research and development questions necessary to move MICP technologies toward commercial scale applications.

[1]  Andrew C. Mitchell,et al.  The coprecipitation of Sr into calcite precipitates induced by bacterial ureolysis in artificial groundwater: Temperature and kinetic dependence , 2005 .

[2]  Abhijit Mukherjee,et al.  Microbial Concrete: Way to Enhance the Durability of Building Structures , 2011 .

[3]  A. Rajor,et al.  Influence of bacteria on the compressive strength, water absorption and rapid chloride permeability of concrete incorporating silica fume , 2012 .

[4]  C. Rodriguez-Navarro,et al.  Bacterially mediated mineralization of vaterite , 2007 .

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

[6]  Victoria S. Whiffin,et al.  Fixation and distribution of bacterial activity in sand to induce carbonate precipitation for ground reinforcement , 2010 .

[7]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Bio-deposition of a calcium carbonate layer on degraded limestone by Bacillus species , 2006, Biodegradation.

[8]  Kambiz Vafai,et al.  Porous media : applications in biological systems and biotechnology , 2010 .

[9]  D. Northup,et al.  Geomicrobiology of Caves: A Review , 2001 .

[10]  Henk M. Jonkers,et al.  Quantification of crack-healing in novel bacteria-based self-healing concrete , 2011 .

[11]  Rafat Siddique,et al.  Influence of bacteria on the compressive strength, water absorption and rapid chloride permeability of fly ash concrete , 2012 .

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

[13]  J. Schijven,et al.  Evaluation of data from the literature on the transport and survival of Escherichia coli and thermotolerant coliforms in aquifers under saturated conditions. , 2006, Water research.

[14]  J. Skopp,et al.  Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology, 2nd edition , 1999 .

[15]  M. Hamilton,et al.  Resilience of planktonic and biofilm cultures to supercritical CO2 , 2008 .

[16]  Vernon R. Phoenix,et al.  Microbially mediated plugging of porous media and the impact of differing injection strategies , 2012 .

[17]  Y. Fujita,et al.  Stimulation of microbial urea hydrolysis in groundwater to enhance calcite precipitation. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[18]  L. Laloui,et al.  A Bio-hydro-mechanical Model for Propagation of Biogrout in Soils , 2011 .

[19]  R. Inkpen,et al.  Carbonate Crystals Precipitated by Freshwater Bacteria and Their Use as a Limestone Consolidant , 2009, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[20]  Y. Kurmaç.  The impact of toxicity of metals on the activity of ureolytic mixed culture during the precipitation of calcium. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[21]  George D. O. Okwadha,et al.  Biocontainment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on flat concrete surfaces by microbial carbonate precipitation. , 2011, Journal of environmental management.

[22]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Reducing the risk of well bore leakage of CO2 using engineered biomineralization barriers , 2011 .

[23]  B. Berkowitz,et al.  Reactive Solute Transport in a Single Fracture , 1996 .

[24]  A. Valocchi,et al.  Pore-scale study of transverse mixing induced CaCO₃ precipitation and permeability reduction in a model subsurface sedimentary system. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[25]  S. Bang,et al.  Microbial calcite, a bio-based smart nanomaterial in concrete remediation , 2010 .

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

[27]  Xiangliang Pan,et al.  Remediation of copper-contaminated soil by Kocuria flava CR1, based on microbially induced calcite precipitation , 2011 .

[28]  Kenichi Soga,et al.  Factors Affecting Efficiency of Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation , 2012 .

[29]  I. Klapper,et al.  Mathematical model of biofilm induced calcite precipitation. , 2010, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[30]  Willy Verstraete,et al.  Strain-Specific Ureolytic Microbial Calcium Carbonate Precipitation , 2003, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[31]  Kenichi Soga,et al.  Soil engineering in vivo: harnessing natural biogeochemical systems for sustainable, multi-functional engineering solutions , 2011, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[32]  A. Mukherjee,et al.  Lactose mother liquor as an alternative nutrient source for microbial concrete production by Sporosarcina pasteurii , 2009, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.

[33]  M. Li,et al.  Biological Clogging in Tangshan Sand Columns under Salt Water Intrusion by Sporosarcina pasteurii , 2011 .

[34]  B. C. Martinez,et al.  Bio-mediated soil improvement , 2010 .

[35]  Y. Topalova,et al.  Survival of genetically marked Escherichia coli O157:H7 in soil as affected by soil microbial community shifts , 2007, The ISME Journal.

[36]  B. Berkowitz,et al.  Precipitation and dissolution of reactive solutes in fractures , 1998 .

[37]  G. Hornberger,et al.  The influence of mineralogy and solution chemistry on the attachment of bacteria to representative aquifer materials , 1990 .

[38]  John W. Morse,et al.  Ostwald Processes and Mineral Paragenesis in Sediments , 1988, American Journal of Science.

[39]  E. Bouwer,et al.  Biofilms in porous media , 2000 .

[40]  Victoria S. Whiffin,et al.  Microbial CaCO3 Precipitation: For the Production of Biocement , 2008 .

[41]  A. Mitchell,et al.  The Influence of Bacillus pasteurii on the Nucleation and Growth of Calcium Carbonate , 2006 .

[42]  É. Verrecchia,et al.  Bacterially Induced Mineralization of Calcium Carbonate in Terrestrial Environments: The Role of Exopolysaccharides and Amino Acids , 2003 .

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

[44]  F. Huertas,et al.  Chemical, mineralogical and isotope behavior, and phase transformation during the precipitation of calcium carbonate minerals from intermediate ionic solution at 25°C , 2001 .

[45]  S. Bang,et al.  KGS Awards Lectures : Application of Microbiologically Induced Soil Stabilization Technique for Dust Suppression , 2011 .

[46]  J. Carey,et al.  Experimental investigation of wellbore integrity and CO2–brine flow along the casing–cement microannulus , 2010 .

[47]  B. Ngwenya,et al.  Bacterial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) mediate CaCO3 morphology and polymorphism , 2009 .

[48]  Steven L. Bryant,et al.  Cement Core Experiments With a Conductive Leakage Pathway, Under Confining Stress and Alteration of Cement's Mechanical Properties Via a Reactive Fluid, as an Analog for CO2 Leakage Scenario , 2008 .

[49]  A. Cunningham,et al.  Effects of starvation on bacterial transport through porous media , 2007 .

[50]  J. Chu,et al.  Formation of water-impermeable crust on sand surface using biocement , 2011 .

[51]  K. Benzerara,et al.  Significance, mechanisms and environmental implications of microbial biomineralization , 2011 .

[52]  L. Wendt,et al.  Evaluating the potential of native ureolytic microbes to remediate a 90Sr contaminated environment. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[53]  Qian Chun-xiang,et al.  Corrosion protection of cement-based building materials by surface deposition of CaCO3 by Bacillus pasteurii , 2009 .

[54]  Y. Kho,et al.  Sporosarcina aquimarina sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from seawater in Korea, and transfer of Bacillus globisporus (Larkin and Stokes 1967), Bacillus psychrophilus (Nakamura 1984) and Bacillus pasteurii (Chester 1898) to the genus Sporosarcina as Sporosarcina globispora comb. nov., Sporosarcina psy , 2001, International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology.

[55]  Malcolm Burbank,et al.  Urease Activity of Ureolytic Bacteria Isolated from Six Soils in which Calcite was Precipitated by Indigenous Bacteria , 2012 .

[56]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Biofilm enhanced geologic sequestration of supercritical CO2 , 2009 .

[57]  Nele De Belie,et al.  Bacterial carbonate precipitation improves the durability of cementitious materials , 2008 .

[58]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Use of bacteria to repair cracks in concrete , 2010 .

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

[60]  S. Bang,et al.  Calcite precipitation induced by polyurethane-immobilized Bacillus pasteurii. , 2001, Enzyme and microbial technology.

[61]  J. DeJong,et al.  Microbially Induced Cementation to Control Sand Response to Undrained Shear , 2006 .

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

[63]  A. Decho.  Overview of biopolymer-induced mineralization: What goes on in biofilms? , 2010 .

[64]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Influence of Pore Structure on the Effectiveness of a Biogenic Carbonate Surface Treatment for Limestone Conservation , 2011, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[65]  M. McInerney,et al.  Microbial Penetration through Nutrient-Saturated Berea Sandstone , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[66]  S. Bang,et al.  Remediation of Concrete Using Micro-Organisms , 2001 .

[67]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Influence of urea and calcium dosage on the effectiveness of bacterially induced carbonate precipitation on limestone , 2010 .

[68]  J. Carlos Santamarina,et al.  Biological Considerations in Geotechnical Engineering , 2005 .

[69]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Microbially enhanced geologic containment of sequestered supercritical CO2 , 2009 .

[70]  F. G. Ferris,et al.  Bacteriogenic mineral plugging , 1996 .

[71]  R. Hausinger,et al.  Microbial ureases: significance, regulation, and molecular characterization. , 1989, Microbiological reviews.

[72]  Victoria S. Whiffin,et al.  Microbial Carbonate Precipitation as a Soil Improvement Technique , 2007 .

[73]  M. Loosdrecht,et al.  Quantifying Bio-Mediated Ground Improvement by Ureolysis: A Large Scale Biogrout Experiment , 2010 .

[74]  A. Mukherjee,et al.  Effect of calcifying bacteria on permeation properties of concrete structures , 2011, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.

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

[76]  F. Hammes.  Ureolytic microbial calcium carbonate precipitation , 2003 .

[77]  L. Overbeek,et al.  Fate and activity of microorganisms introduced into soil. , 1997 .

[78]  Rafat Siddique,et al.  Effect of ureolytic bacteria on concrete properties , 2011 .

[79]  J. Chu,et al.  Applications of microorganisms to geotechnical engineering for bioclogging and biocementation of soil in situ , 2008 .

[80]  Malcolm Burbank,et al.  Precipitation of Calcite by Indigenous Microorganisms to Strengthen Liquefiable Soils , 2011 .

[81]  A. Mitchell,et al.  Effect of strontium contaminants upon the size and solubility of calcite crystals precipitated by the bacterial hydrolysis of urea. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[82]  J. Carey,et al.  Geochemical effects of CO2 sequestration on fractured wellbore cement at the cement/caprock interface , 2009 .

[83]  Varenyam Achal,et al.  Improved strength and durability of fly ash-amended concrete by microbial calcite precipitation , 2011 .

[84]  Nele De Belie,et al.  Use of silica gel or polyurethane immobilized bacteria for self-healing concrete , 2012 .

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

[86]  Nicolas Spycher,et al.  Geophysical monitoring and reactive transport modeling of ureolytically-driven calcium carbonate precipitation , 2011, Geochemical transactions.

[87]  P. Maurice,et al.  Microbially Mediated Calcium Carbonate Precipitation: Implications for Interpreting Calcite Precipitation and for Solid-Phase Capture of Inorganic Contaminants , 2001 .

[88]  J. Amonette,et al.  Incorporation of Chromate into Calcium Carbonate Structure During Coprecipitation , 2007 .

[89]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Key roles of pH and calcium metabolism in microbial carbonate precipitation , 2002 .

[90]  Salwa Al-Thawadi,et al.  Ureolytic Bacteria and Calcium Carbonate Formation as a Mechanism of Strength Enhancement of Sand , 2011 .

[91]  J. J. Morgan,et al.  Aquatic Chemistry: Chemical Equilibria and Rates in Natural Waters , 1970 .

[92]  O. Pokrovsky,et al.  Experimental approach of CO2 biomineralization in deep saline aquifers , 2009 .

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

[94]  B. Pitts,et al.  Imaging Biologically Induced Mineralization in Fully Hydrated Flow Systems , 2011, Microscopy Today.

[95]  P. Domenico,et al.  Physical and chemical hydrogeology , 1990 .

[96]  Susanne Douglas,et al.  Mineral formation by bacteria in natural microbial communities , 1998 .

[97]  G. Rimmelé,et al.  A solution against well cement degradation under CO2 geological storage environment , 2009 .

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

[99]  B. Fouke.  Hot‐spring Systems Geobiology: abiotic and biotic influences on travertine formation at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, USA , 2011 .

[100]  J. DeJong,et al.  Effects of environmental factors on microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation , 2011, Journal of applied microbiology.

[101]  J. Bryers.  Biofilms II : process analysis and applications , 2000 .

[102]  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 .

[103]  Marc Parmentier,et al.  Experimental and numerical modeling of bacterially induced pH increase and calcite precipitation in saline aquifers , 2009 .

[104]  Jani C. Ingram,et al.  Strontium incorporation into calcite generated by bacterial ureolysis , 2002 .

[105]  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 .

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

[107]  K. Dideriksen,et al.  Microbially enhanced carbon capture and storage by mineral-trapping and solubility-trapping. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[108]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Microbial carbonate precipitation in construction materials: A review , 2010 .

[109]  G. Muyzer,et al.  Application of bacteria as self-healing agent for the development of sustainable concrete , 2010 .

[110]  Alfred B. Cunningham,et al.  Influence of biofilms on porous media hydrodynamics , 2010 .

[111]  S. Bang,et al.  A new method for controlling leaching through permeable channels , 1995 .

[112]  Xiangliang Pan,et al.  Biomineralization based remediation of As(III) contaminated soil by Sporosarcina ginsengisoli. , 2012, Journal of hazardous materials.

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