Calcium carbonate precipitation catalyzed by soybean urease as an improvement method for fine-grained soil

Although great advances have recently been made in biological soil-improvement methods, the treatments of fine-grained soil using these methods are still challenging. In this study, we tested a new method for the improvement of silty soil. This method adopts the calcium carbonate precipitation process catalyzed by soybean urease. Crude urease is derived simply by collecting the liquid formed by soaking soybean powder in water. The activity of crude urease is linearly related to the amount of soybean powder added to the water, and is high enough to be used for soil treatment. Under batch conditions, the reactions catalyzed by crude urease can be completed, although the reaction rates are slower than those using live bacteria with the same initial activity. In triaxial consolidated undrained tests, the treated silty soil shows more dilative responses in the stress-strain curves and larger peak deviatoric stresses as compared with the untreated soil, indicating significant improvements in the mechanical behaviour. In the results of CaCO₃ measurements, it is seen that there are continuous increases in the CaCO₃ content of the samples during the treatment process, which implies that the silty soil samples are not clogged when treated by crude urease. Such results indicate that calcium carbonate precipitation catalyzed by soybean urease can be used for the improvement of fine-grained soil.     

Enhancement of unconfined compressive strength of sand test pieces cemented with calcium phosphate compound by addition of various powders

To improve the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of a novel chemical grout composed of a calcium phosphate compound (CPC-Chem), we performed UCS tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations on sand test pieces cemented with CPC-Chem and four kinds of powders (tricalcium phosphate, TCP; magnesium phosphate, MgP; calcium carbonate, CC and magnesium carbonate, MgC) as seed crystals. The UCS of the CPC-Chem test pieces cemented with TCP and CC was significantly greater than that of the test pieces with no added powders. The UCS of the test pieces with TCP and CC additives exceeded the targeted value of 100 kPa and increased to a maximum of 261.4 kPa and 209.7 kPa for the test pieces with TCP and CC additives, respectively. Furthermore, the UCS of test pieces with 1 wt% or 5 wt% TCP and 1 wt% CC additives was maintained at a level exceeding 200 kPa for 168 days. SEM observations revealed net-like and three-dimensional structures in segments of test pieces cemented with 1 wt% or 5 wt% TCP and 1 wt% CC in CPC-Chem, which could have been the reason of the long-term stability of UCS (over 200 kPa for 168 days) observed in this study. These results suggest that the addition of TCP and CC significantly enhances the ground improvement afforded by CPC-Chem.     

Mid-scale biocemented soil columns via enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP)

Biocemented soil columns were created at a reduced scale (mid-scale) using enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) as a prelude to field scale deployment. Approximately 0.3 m diameter × 0.75 m long columns were created using a tube-à-manchette grouting technique in 0.6 m × 0.6 m × 1.2 m boxes filled with a dry washed quarry sand. Treatment solution composition and treatment protocol, including number of cycles of treatment and time interval between cycles, were established based upon laboratory testing. The urease enzyme used in the treatment solution was extracted from jack beans in a just-in-time manner on site. The biocemented soil columns were characterized in situ using shear wave velocity, needle penetrometer and pocket penetrometer testing, dimensional measurements, and by unconfined compression strength (UCS) and carbonate content measurements on specimens recovered from the columns. The in situ measurements indicated the target UCS of 500 kPa was achieved. However, the UCS tests on recovered specimens had inconsistent results, which may be attributed to sample disturbance. Overall, the results demonstrate that EICP is a viable method for creating biocemented soil columns for ground improvement.     

Strength development in silty clay stabilized with calcium carbide residue and fly ash

Calcium carbide residue (CCR) and fly ash (FA) are waste products from acetylene gas factories and power plants, respectively. The mixture of CCR and FA can produce a cementitious material because CCR contains a large amount of Ca(OH)₂ while FA is a pozzolanic material. Soil stabilization by CCR is classified using three zones: active, inert and deterioration. In the active zone, the natural pozzolanic material in the soil is adequate to produce a pozzolanic reaction. Hence, the input of FA into this zone does not significantly improve strength. Strength in the inert zone can be significantly increased by adding FA. FA improves the densification and pozzolanic reaction. The deterioration zone is not recommended for use in practice, even with the input of FA. The unsoundness due to free lime hinders strength development. Although the soaked and unsoaked strengths depend mainly on the CCR and FA contents, most of the ratios of soaked strength to unsoaked strength vary between 0.45 and 0.65. It is proved that a mixture of CCR and FA can be used for soil stabilization instead of ordinary Portland cement. The possible mechanism regarding the control of strength development presented in this paper can be applied to other clayey soils stabilized with different cementitious materials produced from Ca(OH)₂-rich and pozzolanic materials. This putative mechanism is also fundamental for further studies involving the development of rational dosage methodologies.     

Application of pulsed spark discharge for calcium carbonate precipitation in hard water

The effect of underwater pulsed spark discharge on the precipitation of dissolved calcium ions was investigated in the present study. Water samples with different calcium hardness were prepared by continuous evaporation of tap water using a laboratory cooling tower. It was shown that the concentration of calcium ions dropped by 20-26% after 10-min plasma treatment, comparing with no drop for untreated cases. A laser particle counting method demonstrated that the total number of solid particles suspended in water increased by over 100% after the plasma treatment. The morphology and the crystal form of the particles were identified by both scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Calcite with rhombohedron morphology was observed for plasma treated cases, comparing with the round structure observed for no-treatment cases. It was hypothesized that the main mechanisms for the plasma-assisted calcium carbonate precipitation might include electrolysis, local heating in the vicinity of plasma channel and a high electric field at the tip of plasma streamers, inducing structural changes in the electric double layer of hydrated ions.     

Effect of a magnetic water treatment on homogeneous and heterogeneous precipitation of calcium carbonate

In this paper are reported experimental results on the effect of a magnetic field on the precipitation process of calcium carbonate scale from a hard water. Carbonically pure water was circulated at a constant flow rate in a magnetic field. After this treatment, calcium carbonate precipitation was induced by degassing dissolved carbonic gas. The nucleation time was identified from the variations of the pH and the Ca(2+) concentration. The ratio between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation was determined from the measurement of the mass of precipitated calcium carbonate. It is shown that the magnetic treatment increases the total amount of precipitate. This effect depends on the solution pH, the flow rate and the duration of the treatment. In addition, the magnetic treatment modifies the ratio between homogeneous/heterogeneous nucleation. Homogeneous nucleation is promoted by an increasing the pH of water, the flow rate as well as the residence time. The magnetic treatment enhances these effects with a maximum for a 15 min treatment time. It is shown that the presence of calcium carbonate colloid particles is not necessary. It is advanced that the main magnetic effects concern the associations of ionic species which are present in the solution and which are involved in the nucleation process of calcium carbonate precipitation.     

微生物矿化碳酸钙改良土体的进展、展望与工程应用技术设计

利用微生物矿化碳酸钙（Microbial Induced Calcium carbonate Precipitation,简称MICP）沉积出具有胶结功能的碳酸钙,填充土内孔隙、胶结土颗粒,能够提高土体强度、降低渗透性,具有很好的土体改良作用,在微生物注浆、加固土坝、防风固砂、库底防渗、坝体防渗、污染土壤（地下水）修复等方面具有工程应用前景。对MICP土体改良研究进行了总结、分析和展望：利用MICP技术能够将砂土的无侧限抗压强度提高到20MPa以上,渗透系数降低到处理前的1%,剪切波速提高4倍,能够胜任岩土工程任务;认为下一步应重点对处理效果的均匀性、适用的地基土范围、处理土的全面性能开展系统研究,如耐久性、动力性能和防腐性能等。MICP技术已经在砂砾体稳定、地下室堵漏中得到了少量应用,工程应用施工技术是MICP应用的瓶颈。对MICP在岩土工程领域应用的施工技术进行了设计,包括地基加固、液化地基改良、污染土壤（地下水）修复、坝体防渗堵漏和加固砂桩,以推动MICP技术的实际工程应用为盼。     

Experimental study on mitigating wind erosion of calcareous desert sand using spray method for microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation

Wind erosion is one of the significant natural calamities worldwide, which degrades around one-third of global land. The eroded and suspended soil particles in the environment may cause health hazards, i.e.allergies and respiratory diseases, due to the presence of harmful contaminants, bacteria, and pollens.The present study evaluates the feasibility of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation(MICP)technique to mitigate wind-induced erosion of calcareous desert sand(Thar desert of Raj...     

The effect of antiscalant addition on calcium carbonate precipitation for a simplified synthetic brackish water reverse osmosis concentrate

The primary limitations to inland brackish water reverse osmosis (RO) desalination are the cost and technical feasibility of concentrate disposal. To decrease concentrate volume, a side-stream process can be used to precipitate problematic scaling salts and remove the precipitate with a solid/liquid separation step. The treated concentrate can then be purified through a secondary reverse osmosis stage to increase overall recovery and decrease the volume of waste requiring disposal. Antiscalants are used in an RO system to prevent salt precipitation but might affect side-stream concentrate treatment. Precipitation experiments were performed on a synthetic RO concentrate with and without antiscalant; of particular interest was the precipitation of calcium carbonate. Particle size distributions, calcium precipitation, microfiltration flux, and scanning electron microscopy were used to evaluate the effects of antiscalant type, antiscalant concentration, and precipitation pH on calcium carbonate precipitation and filtration. Results show that antiscalants can decrease precipitate particle size and change the shape of the particles; smaller particles can cause an increase in microfiltration flux decline during the solid/liquid separation step. The presence of antiscalant during precipitation can also decrease the mass of precipitated calcium carbonate.