Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May 19;12(1):59.
doi: 10.1186/s13568-022-01403-z.

Biomineralization of cyanobacteria Synechocystis pevalekii improves the durability properties of cement mortar

Navneet Sidhu  1 , Shweta Goyal  2 , M Sudhakara Reddy  3
Affiliations

Biomineralization of cyanobacteria Synechocystis pevalekii improves the durability properties of cement mortar

Navneet Sidhu et al. AMB Express. .

Abstract

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICCP) is considered a novel eco-friendly technique to enhance the structural properties of cementitious-based material. Maximum studies have emphasized using ureolytic bacteria to improve the durability properties of building structures. In this study, the role of photoautotrophic bacteria Synechocystis pevalekii BDHKU 35101 has been investigated for calcium carbonate precipitation in sand consolidation, and enhancing mechanical and permeability properties of cement mortar. Both live and UV-treated S. pevalekii cells were used to treat the mortar specimens, and the results were compared with the control. The compressive strength of mortar specimens was significantly enhanced by 25.54% and 15.84% with live and UV-treated S. pevalekii cells at 28-day of curing. Water absorption levels were significantly reduced in bacterial-treated mortar specimens compared to control at 7 and 28-day curing. Calcium carbonate precipitation was higher in live-treated cells than in UV-treated S. pevalekii cells. Calcium carbonate precipitation by S. pevalekii cells was confirmed with SEM-EDS, XRD, and TGA analysis. These results suggest that S. pevalekii can serve as a low-cost and environment friendly MICCP technology to improve the durability properties of cementitious materials.

Keywords: Calcium carbonate precipitation; Compressive strength; Cyanobacteria; Mortar; Sand consolidation; Synechocystis pevalekii; Water absorption.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic representation of sand column experiment
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Estimation of a the flow rate of the calcifying solution b pH of the effluent solution injected through sand columns till 14 days
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Sand columns consolidated by a live (LT) S. pevalekii cells, b UV treated (UVT) S. pevalekii cells, c control, and d calcium carbonate precipitation in three different layers of sand columns
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
SEM-EDX images represent CaCO3 crystals (CC) precipitated on upper layer of sand column treated with live (LT) Synechocystis pevalekii cells (a, b), UV treated (UVT) S. pevalekii cells (d, e), and control (g, h). EDS analysis (c, f, i) was conducted on the whole area
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Compressive strength of mortar specimens cured with live (LT) and UV treated (UVT) S. pevalekii cells at the age of 3-, 7-, and 28-day
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Water absorption of mortar specimens treated with live (LT) and UV treated (UVT) Synechocystis pevalekii at a 7-day, and b 28-day of curing
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
TGA (a), and XRD pattern (b) of mortar specimens treated with live (LT) and UV treated (UVT) Synechocystis pevalekii cells at 28-day of curing
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
SEM-EDX images represent precipitation of rhombohedral calcite (C) and spherical vaterite (V) CaCO3 crystals (CC) in mortar specimens treated with live (LT) Synechocystis pevalekii cells (a, b); UV treated (UVT) S. pevalekii cells (c, d), and control (e, f). Square ‘□’ sign indicates the spot of EDX analysis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Achal V, Mukherjee A, Reddy MS. Effect of calcifying bacteria on permeation properties of concrete structures. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2011;38:1229–1234. doi: 10.1007/s10295-010-0901-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Achal V, Mukherjee A, Sudhakara Reddy M. Microbial concrete: way to enhance the durability of building structures. J Mater Civ Eng. 2011;23:730–734. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000159. - DOI
    1. Bhuvaneshwari T, Shylajanaciyar M, Prakasam PA, Ezhilmaran K, Karthick L, Subramanian G, Uma L, Prabaharan D. Polyphasic analysis for elucidating the taxonomic position of selected unicellular marine Cyanobacteria from Indian and Hong Kong coast. Phytotaxa. 2017;307:263–277. doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.307.4.4. - DOI
    1. Chekroun KB, Rodri C, Teresa Gonza M, Maria Arias J, Cultrone G, Rodri M. Precipitation and growth morphology of calcium carbonate induced by Myxococcus xanthus: implications for recognition of bacterial carbonates. J Sediment Res. 2004;74:1527–1404. doi: 10.1306/050504740868. - DOI
    1. De Muynck W, Verbeken K, De Belie N, Verstraete W. Influence of urea and calcium dosage on the effectiveness of bacterially induced carbonate precipitation on limestone. Ecol Eng. 2010;36:99–111. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2009.03.025. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources