Immobilization of bacterial cells on natural minerals for self-healing cement-based materials

Recent research in the field of concrete materials showed that it might be possible to develop a smart cement-based material that is capable of remediating cracks by Microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). The early remediation of microcracks enables the design of cement-based systems with an elongated service life with a sustainable approach. However, the main challenge of the application is to extend the viability of the cells against the restrictive environment of cement-paste. These cells have to tolerate the highly alkaline conditions of cement paste, survive the mixing process, and remain viable even when access to nutrients is limited. This paper summarizes a novel study undertaken to investigate the self-healing efficiency of Sporosarcina pasteurii (S. pasteurii) cells immobilized on zeolite and sepiolite minerals having the same particle size. This manuscript reports an extensive experimental study to understand the factors influencing the efficiency of immobilization barriers, such as composition and reactivity. To obtain the bio-additive, the bacterial cells were immobilized without nutrients and additional nutrients were only provided during the curing stage after crack initiation. Screening of the healing process was done with ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) testing and stereomicroscopy. Further evaluation on performance was done by evaluating the decrease in water absorption capacity. The healing precipitate was characterized through Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) and Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). With this approach, the cracks on mortar surface were sealed and the water absorption capacity of the so-called self-healed mortar decreased compared to its counterpart cracked mortar samples. Sepiolite was found to be a more suitable bedding for the microorganisms compared to zeolite, therefore samples containing sepiolite exhibited a higher performance in terms of crack healing. The results showed that while vegetative cell immobilization on locally available materials is a simple and economically feasible approach the healing capacity of bacterial cells can be hindered due to the reactivity of the mineral

The performance evaluation of protection barriers in bacterial self-healing mortar

The early age microcracking is a significant problem in concrete structures resulting in increased permeability and decreased durability. The previous work showed that Sporasarcina pasteurii cells immobilized on natural minerals such as bentonite, diatomaceous earth, sepiolite, and pumice effectively remediated early-age microcracks in the cementitious systems by triggering microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP). This promising approach can solve early-age shrinkage cracking in cementitious systems. Therefore, it is essential to assess the impact of self-healing additives on drying shrinkage. This study investigates the influence of mineral-based biological additives on the drying shrinkage capacity of cement-based mortar and the possible self-healing of cracks if any occur. To achieve this goal, the free shrinkage in control (containing only minerals) and bacterial (containing bio-based additive) samples were measured based on ASTM 596-18 norms. Moreover, the performance assessment of developed self-healing additives was done by determining compressive strength and initial setting time of bacterial self-healing mortar

A comparative evaluation of sepiolite and nano-montmorillonite on the rheology of cementitious materials for 3D printing

Through the last decade, methods of digital manufacturing of concrete gained a significant interest compared to conventional concrete. The main challenge in additive manufacturing (3D printing) is to design a highly thixotropic cementitious system. This study aims to investigate the use of sepiolite as a rheology modifier as a novel approach to improve the thixotropic behavior and adapt cementitious systems to 3D printing. To understand the influence of sepiolite on rheological properties, a comparative evaluation with nano-montmorillonite was established. The effectiveness of clay addition was also investigated in fly-ash amended cement-based materials. The rheological analysis was done on cement-paste samples containing both clays in terms of their effects on thixotropy, structural build-up, and recovery. A preliminary printability assessment was done with a lab scale printer having a ram extruder. The results show that the incorporation of clays increased the dynamic yield stress and time-dependent evolution of static yield stress. Moreover, the addition of clays improved the thixotropic behavior of cement-based systems, particularly those containing fly-ash. Herein, the sepiolite was found to be more effective compared to nano-montmorillonite in terms of improving thixotropy, structural build-up and recovery. The results showed that use of fly-ash enhances the printability of the mix for the specified extruder and the samples containing 1% nano-montmorillonite or 0.5% sepiolite can be printed. The positive effects of sepiolite were attributed to opposing surface charges of the clay layers and its micro-fibrous microstructure. The findings in this study enabled an in-depth understanding of the rheology and printability of fly-ash amended clay containing printable cement-based mortars

Novelty in bacteria source production and concrete binders in self-healing cementitious samples

One of the challenges associated with creating bacterial-concrete systems capable of biomineralizing CaCO3 to fill cracks is the high pH environment of the hydrated cement paste. In this study two approaches to address this challenge were investigated: (i) the use of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement, which develops a naturally lower pH, and (ii) the use of non-axenic bacterial cultures, which may facilitate growth of bacterial strains more resilient to harsh alkaline conditions. Axenic B. subtilis and a non-axenic bacterial system from soil were produced and utilized in ordinary portland cement (OPC) and CSA samples. The mechanical properties, water absorption, calcium carbonate precipitation capability, and survivability of bacteria were investigated. The highest B. subtilis and soil bacteria viability was obtained through use of CSA cement and may enable greater later age crack healing potential than mixtures using OPC. Incorporation of axenic bacteria resulted in increased bacteria survivability in the mortar samples when compared to non-axenic bacteria mixes. However, in both cementitious systems, use of B. subtilis and soil bacteria led to similar improvements, suggesting that non-axenic cultures may be used in concrete effectively

Fly-ash evaluation as potential EOL material replacement of cement in pastes: morpho-structural and physico-chemical properties assessment

The main objective of the study was to produce alternative binder materials, obtained with low cost, low energy consumption, and low CO2 production, by regenerating end-of-life (EOL) materials from mineral deposits, to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The materials analyzed were ash and slag from the Turceni thermal power plant deposit, Romania. These were initially examined for morphology, mineralogical composition, elemental composition, degree of crystallinity, and heating behavior, to determine their ability to be used as a potential source of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) and to establish the activation and transformation temperature in the SCM. The in-situ pozzolanic behavior of commercial cement, as well as cement mixtures with different percentages of ash addition, were further observed. The mechanical resistance, water absorption, sorptivity capacity, resistance to alkali reactions (ASR), corrosion resistance, and resistance to reaction with sulfates were evaluated in this study using low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy