Abstract
An alternative approach in soil improvement techniques is to use microbial processes to improve the engineering properties of soil called microbial geotechnology. In addition to the use of calcium-based biocement, a new variation in biocement through the microbially induced iron salts precipitation was also considered. The present study discussed the feasibility of iron-based biocement using two methods: (1) chemical source and (2) microbially produced ferrous cations. Hence, innovative biocement production by the addition of urea and ferrous cation solutions after the application of urease-producing bacteria to sand samples was carried out, and the possibility of increasing the shear strength of soil was explored. Results show that increasing the precipitated cation-to-sand ratio of 6 % (w/w) resulted in a significant increase in the UCS value up to 402 kPa. Precipitation of iron salts was seen between sand grains in the soil microstructure analysis. Simultaneously, other applications of iron-based biocement for soil improvement such as bioclogging in sand and their feasibility in the field require further investigation.
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More From: Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Civil Engineering
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