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Microbial calcium carbonate precipitation with high affinity to fill the concrete pore space: nanobiotechnological approach

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Abstract

Despite the advantages of concrete, it has a pore structure and is susceptible to cracking. The initiated cracks as well as pores and their connectivity accelerate the structure degradation by permitting aggressive substances to flow into the concrete matrix. This phenomenon results in a considerable repair and maintenance costs and decreases the concrete lifespan. In recent years, biotechnological approach through immobilization of bacteria in/or protective vehicles has emerged as a viable solution to address this issue. However, the addition of macro- or micro scale size particles can decrease the integrity of matrix. In this study, the immobilization of bacteria with magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (ION) was proposed to protect the bacterial cell and evaluate their effect on healing the concrete pore space. The results show that the addition of immobilized bacteria with IONs resulted in a lower water absorption and volume of permeable pore space. Crystal analysis using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that CaCO3 was precipitated in bio-concrete specimen as a result of microbial biosynthesis.

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Acknowledgements

This investigation was financially supported by The University of Waikato, New Zealand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Mostafa Seifan & Aydin Berenjian

  2. Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran

    Alireza Ebrahiminezhad & Younes Ghasemi

  3. Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Centre, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Younes Ghasemi

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  1. Mostafa Seifan
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  2. Alireza Ebrahiminezhad
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  3. Younes Ghasemi
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  4. Aydin Berenjian
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Correspondence to Aydin Berenjian.

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Seifan, M., Ebrahiminezhad, A., Ghasemi, Y. et al. Microbial calcium carbonate precipitation with high affinity to fill the concrete pore space: nanobiotechnological approach. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 42, 37–46 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-018-2011-3

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