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Strength improvement in silty clay by microbial-induced calcite precipitation

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Abstract

The application of MICP (microbial-induced calcite precipitation) to clays has been restricted due to their low permeability and small pore size, which limit bacterial mobility. The authors proposed an injection method for introducing solutions into a silty clay for MICP in the pore space. Test results showed that injecting equal volumes of bacterial solution and cementation solution resulted in 200% soil strength. The soil strength was estimated using a miniature cone penetration test, which provided a continuous cone resistance profile. The strength profile of the improved samples clearly showed that the peak strength occurred at the top portion of the samples, which implied that bacteria and urease traveled through the soil and MICP occurred. After the injection, 70–90% of the soil volume was improved through MICP. An analysis of drainage solutions after a few days showed calcite precipitation, which indicated that the urease reaction was still active in the drainage. These results can conclude that MICP is applicable to silty clays with similar properties, such as low permeability, low pH, and small pore size.

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Data for figures in this paper are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Knowledge and assistance in bacterial growth from Prof. S.L. Tsai in the Department of Chemical Engineering of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology is greatly appreciated.

Funding

This work received financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. 106–2221-E-011–168) in Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43 Keelung Rd. Sec. 4, Taipei, 10607, Taiwan

    Fuchen Teng, Yong-Cheng Sie & Colette Ouedraogo

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  1. Fuchen Teng
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  2. Yong-Cheng Sie
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  3. Colette Ouedraogo
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Correspondence to Fuchen Teng.

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Teng, F., Sie, YC. & Ouedraogo, C. Strength improvement in silty clay by microbial-induced calcite precipitation. Bull Eng Geol Environ 80, 6359–6371 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02308-0

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