Solar Powered Electro-Bio-Stabilization of Soil with Ammonium Pollution Prevention System

This technical note aims to show the utility of solar energy coupled by electrobiogrouting as an environmentally friendly source of energy and prevent disposal of Ammonium in soil for the successful application of bacteria for soil improvement. A small-scale column electrokinetic cell was set up to inject carbonate-producing bacteria into the soil. Also, a solar power supply was utilized to generate a dc voltage of around 35 V for different treatment times. The results showed that the application of the concentrated solar-powered electro-microbiologically induced calcium carbonate precipitation (CSP-E-MICP) method to the soil increased the unconfined compressive strength of the soil at different curing time. The results of this experiment revealed that the unconfined shear strength of the soil increased due to the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation between the soil particles. In this method, the ammonium (NH4+) was retained in the cathode chamber by the graphite cathode electrode, and the pollution prevention system minimized the leakage of NH4+ ions into the soil.