Reduction of ammonia production in the biocementation process for sand using a new biocement

Biocementation using a microbially-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) process has become a new method for soil improvement. However, this method produces ammonia gas which is not desirable. A new biocementation method using a microbially-induced struvite precipitation (MISP) process is proposed in this paper. The main cementation components produced by this method are struvite and basic magnesium phosphate as identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD). This new method can reduce the amount of ammonia discharge by more than 8 times. Sand treated using this method can reach an unconfined compressive strength of more than 1.47 MPa after three rounds of treatments. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A new biocementation method using a microbially-induced struvite precipitation process is proposed to reduce ammonia discharge and improve the unconfined compressive strength of sand. The main cementation components produced by this method are struvite and basic magnesium phosphate, leading to a significant reduction in ammonia emissions by over 8 times.