Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP): Review from an Engineering Perspective

• Published in: Geotechnical and geological engineering Vol. 40; no. 5; pp. 2379 - 2396
• Main Authors: Pacheco, Vinicius Luiz, Bragagnolo, Lucimara, Reginatto, Cleomar, Thomé, Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.05.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algae; Ammonium; Ammonium compounds; Atmospheric precipitations; Bioremediation; Calcite; Carbonic acid; Chemical precipitation; Civil Engineering; Concrete; Durability; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Engineering; Fungi; Geomechanics; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Hydrogeology; Immobilization; Invertebrates; Leaching; Mechanical properties; Metal ions; Metals; Mortars (material); Precipitation; Properties; Rain; Rainfall; Regeneration; Reviews; Sandy soils; Sediment pollution; Self healing materials; Soil; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Soil properties; State-of-the-Art Review; Terrestrial Pollution; Urea; Urease; Waste Management/Waste Technology; Water absorption; Urease; Bioremediation; MICP; Biocementation; Geotechnics
• ISSN: 0960-3182; 1573-1529
• DOI: 10.1007/s10706-021-02041-1

The urease is an enzyme present under wide variety in nature and produced by bacteria, fungi, algae, and invertebrate in which has the function of catalyzing the hydrolysis of urea by forming as final product carbonic acid and ammonium. Thus, this article aims to present a bibliographic review about the application of the urease in the engineering as a technique called microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) or biocementation; giving an overview about the urease mechanism of action, kinetic properties, specific methods of the urease monitoring activity in engineering and the most recent findings in the field. Also, the review identified three main areas of the application of MICP in engineering, which are: improvement of geomechanical properties of sandy soils; bioremediation of contaminated soils by toxic metals, and the MICP technique incorporated into the mortars and concretes materials as a substitute of the conventional cement. So, the findings regard that the urease is a promising and efficient on the increase of soil load capacity. In the field of bioremediation, immobilization of metal ions is promising, and variables such as rainfall must be added in the experiments to quantify the leaching of metals immobilized during the biocementation process. As for the applicability of the MICP technique for self-healing and revitalization of cracks in concretes and mortars, it is extremely useful and ecofriendly while providing the improvement of mechanical strength, durability and water absorption evidenced in relation to the state-of-the-art.