Incorporation of bacteria in concrete: the case against MICP as a means for strength improvement

Lorena Skevi; Bianca Reeksting; Timothy Hoffmann; Susanne Gebhard; Kevin Paine

doi:10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2021.104056

Incorporation of bacteria in concrete: the case against MICP as a means for strength improvement

Lorena Skevi, Bianca Reeksting, Timothy Hoffmann, Susanne Gebhard, Kevin Paine

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Abstract

Strength improvement of cement-based materials by the addition of bacteria has been reported over the past decade and has been mainly attributed to microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP ¹). However, the ability of bacteria to survive, grow and retain their metabolic activity in concrete is questionable. This research sheds light on the mechanisms involved in the strength enhancement of cementitious materials that contain bacteria. The addition of different concentrations of live and dead cells of Bacillus cohnii in cement mortars led to an increase in flexural and compressive strength for the mortars containing both types of bacteria. Findings of the present study led to exclusion of MICP as the main cause of strength enhancement, disproving earlier theories. Other known hypotheses including the behaviour of bacteria as organic fibres or as nucleation sites are thoroughly discussed, and a new approach is proposed.

Original language	English
Article number	104056
Journal	Cement and Concrete Composites
Volume	120
Early online date	10 Apr 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2021.104056
Publication status	Published - 31 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Material and Chemical Characterisation Facility (MC 2 ) at University of Bath ( https://doi.org/10.15125/mx6j-3r54 ) for the technical support in conducting SEM and TGA measurements. Tsz Ying (Vicky) Hui and Bin Li are thanked for their contribution to the TGA and strength experimental work, respectively. The authors acknowledge EPSRC (Project No. EP/PO2081X/1 ) and Industrial collaborators/partners for funding the Resilient Materials for Life (RM4L) programme grant. Lorena Skevi and Timothy D. Hoffmann were supported by BRE Trust and University of Bath Research Studentship Awards, respectively.

Keywords

Concrete
Bacteria
Compressive Strength
Calorimetry
Thermal analysis

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10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2021.104056

CCC-D-20-01231R1_accepted version.PDFAccepted author manuscript, 810 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Incorporation of bacteria in concrete: the case against MICP as a means for strength improvement",

abstract = "Strength improvement of cement-based materials by the addition of bacteria has been reported over the past decade and has been mainly attributed to microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP 1). However, the ability of bacteria to survive, grow and retain their metabolic activity in concrete is questionable. This research sheds light on the mechanisms involved in the strength enhancement of cementitious materials that contain bacteria. The addition of different concentrations of live and dead cells of Bacillus cohnii in cement mortars led to an increase in flexural and compressive strength for the mortars containing both types of bacteria. Findings of the present study led to exclusion of MICP as the main cause of strength enhancement, disproving earlier theories. Other known hypotheses including the behaviour of bacteria as organic fibres or as nucleation sites are thoroughly discussed, and a new approach is proposed.",

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author = "Lorena Skevi and Bianca Reeksting and Timothy Hoffmann and Susanne Gebhard and Kevin Paine",

note = "Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge the Material and Chemical Characterisation Facility (MC 2 ) at University of Bath ( https://doi.org/10.15125/mx6j-3r54 ) for the technical support in conducting SEM and TGA measurements. Tsz Ying (Vicky) Hui and Bin Li are thanked for their contribution to the TGA and strength experimental work, respectively. The authors acknowledge EPSRC (Project No. EP/PO2081X/1 ) and Industrial collaborators/partners for funding the Resilient Materials for Life (RM4L) programme grant. Lorena Skevi and Timothy D. Hoffmann were supported by BRE Trust and University of Bath Research Studentship Awards, respectively.",

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AU - Reeksting, Bianca

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AU - Gebhard, Susanne

AU - Paine, Kevin

N1 - Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge the Material and Chemical Characterisation Facility (MC 2 ) at University of Bath ( https://doi.org/10.15125/mx6j-3r54 ) for the technical support in conducting SEM and TGA measurements. Tsz Ying (Vicky) Hui and Bin Li are thanked for their contribution to the TGA and strength experimental work, respectively. The authors acknowledge EPSRC (Project No. EP/PO2081X/1 ) and Industrial collaborators/partners for funding the Resilient Materials for Life (RM4L) programme grant. Lorena Skevi and Timothy D. Hoffmann were supported by BRE Trust and University of Bath Research Studentship Awards, respectively.

PY - 2021/7/31

Y1 - 2021/7/31

N2 - Strength improvement of cement-based materials by the addition of bacteria has been reported over the past decade and has been mainly attributed to microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP 1). However, the ability of bacteria to survive, grow and retain their metabolic activity in concrete is questionable. This research sheds light on the mechanisms involved in the strength enhancement of cementitious materials that contain bacteria. The addition of different concentrations of live and dead cells of Bacillus cohnii in cement mortars led to an increase in flexural and compressive strength for the mortars containing both types of bacteria. Findings of the present study led to exclusion of MICP as the main cause of strength enhancement, disproving earlier theories. Other known hypotheses including the behaviour of bacteria as organic fibres or as nucleation sites are thoroughly discussed, and a new approach is proposed.

AB - Strength improvement of cement-based materials by the addition of bacteria has been reported over the past decade and has been mainly attributed to microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP 1). However, the ability of bacteria to survive, grow and retain their metabolic activity in concrete is questionable. This research sheds light on the mechanisms involved in the strength enhancement of cementitious materials that contain bacteria. The addition of different concentrations of live and dead cells of Bacillus cohnii in cement mortars led to an increase in flexural and compressive strength for the mortars containing both types of bacteria. Findings of the present study led to exclusion of MICP as the main cause of strength enhancement, disproving earlier theories. Other known hypotheses including the behaviour of bacteria as organic fibres or as nucleation sites are thoroughly discussed, and a new approach is proposed.

KW - Concrete

KW - Bacteria

KW - Compressive Strength

KW - Calorimetry

KW - Thermal analysis

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Incorporation of bacteria in concrete: the case against MICP as a means for strength improvement

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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RM4L - Resilient Materials for Life

Thermogravimetric Analyser coupled to a Mass Spectrometer (TGA-MS)

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Incorporation of bacteria in concrete: the case against MICP as a means for strength improvement

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

RM4L - Resilient Materials for Life

Equipment

Thermogravimetric Analyser coupled to a Mass Spectrometer (TGA-MS)

Zetasizer

Cite this