• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.5-13
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• 2016

A calcium source is necessary for calcite precipitation within soil particles by microbial decomposition of urea and a calcium chloride is usually used. The harmful environmental impact of calcium chloride on road, ground and plants is severe. In this study, an eggshell with vinegar is investigated for an environmental-friendly calcium source. Urea-decomposing microorganism and eggshell or calcium chloride as a calcium source are mixed with Ottawa sand to precipitate calcite. Then, the cemented sand with calcite is tested for calcite precipitation, permeability and unconfined compressive strength. A specimen is prepared by loose Ottawa sand in a size of 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height. A urea solution with Sporosarcina pasteurii and two different calcium sources is injected into the specimen once a day for 30 days. Calcite precipitated at average of 7.2% on the specimen with eggshell as a calcium source, which was 1.2 times more than that with calcium chloride. The permeability of a specimen with eggshell was at average of 3.82E-5 cm/s, which was 7.7 times lower than that with calcium chloride. Unconfined compressive strength of a specimen with eggshell was at average of 387 kPa, which was 1.2 times higher than that with calcium chloride. As more calcite precipitated, the strength increased while the permeability decreased, regardless of calcium sources.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.391-397
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• 2014

Acid mine drainage occurrence is a serious environmental problem by mining industry; it usually contain high levels of metal ions, such as iron, copper, zinc, aluminum, and manganese, as well as metalloids of which arsenic is generally of greatest concern. It causes mine impacted soil pollution with mining and smelting activities, fossil fuel combustion, and waste disposal. In the present study, three bacterial strains capable of producing urease were isolated by selective enrichment of heavy metal contaminated soils from a minei-mpacted area. All isolated bacterial strains were identified Sporosarcina pasteurii with more than 98% of similarity, therefore they were named Sporosarcina sp. KM-01, KM-07, and KM-12. The heavy metals detected from the collected mine soils containing bacterial isolates as Mn ($170.50mg\;kg^{-1}$), As ($114.05mg\;kg^{-1}$), Zn ($92.07mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cu ($62.44mg\;kg^{-1}$), and Pb ($40.29mg\;kg^{-1}$). The KM-01, KM-07, and KM-12 strains were shown to be able to precipitate calcium carbonate using urea as a energy source that was amended with calcium chloride. SEM-EDS analyses showed that calcium carbonate was successfully produced and increased with time. To confirm the calcium carbonate precipitation ability, urease activity and precipitate weight were also measured and compared. These results demonstrate that all isolated bacterial strains could potentially be used in the bioremediation of acidic soil contaminated by heavy metals by mining activity.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.75-84
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• 2011

There are some kinds of microorganisms within soils which can precipitate some minerals such as calcite under suitable conditions. Such precipitated calcites within pores of soil may reduce permeability and also cement soil particles. In this study, whether such microorganisms can fill pores within soil and increase the strength is investigated. Basillus pasteurii was repeatedly injected into weakly cemented sand with 3% cement ratio up to 10 times for 20 days. Then, cemented sand injected with microorganisms was tested for an unconfined compressive strength and evaluated for filling voids between soil particles. The unconfined compressive strength of one time injected specimen showed a 5% increase compared to untreated specimen. However, for more than two times the strength of injected specimens gradually decreased up to 50% of the untreated specimen by microorganisms. As the number of microorganism injection increased, the amount of calcite precipitation slightly increased within voids. However, over-precipitated calcites may result in strength decrease of slightly cemented soils.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.268-272
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• 2012

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) has been explored for protection and consolidation of construction materials such as concrete. In this study, we isolated 54 calcite forming bacteria from concrete pavement and selected 5 isolates which showed high specific urease activity. Also response of the 5 strains against various environmental stresses was examined. BC 4 and BC 5 showed 35% and 26% viability at heat stress ($50^{\circ}C$), respectively. BC 1 and BC 4 maintained 60.4% and 70.4% viability upon osmotic stress (1 M NaCl), respectively. Among the 5 isolates BC 4 had the highest viability upon alkaline stress (pH 10).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.385-389
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• 2012

The application of microorganisms in the field of construction material is rapidly increasing worldwide; however, almost all studies that were investigated were bacterial sources with mineral-producing activity and not with organic substances. The difference in the efficiency of using bacteria as an organic agent is that it could improve the durability of cement material. This study aimed to assess the use of biofilm-forming microorganisms as binding agents to increase the compressive strength of cement-sand material. We isolated 13 alkaliphilic biofilmforming bacteria (ABB) from a cement tetrapod block in the West Sea, Korea. Using 16S RNA sequence analysis, the ABB were partially identified as Bacillus algicola KNUC501 and Exiguobacterium marinum KNUC513. KNUC513 was selected for further study following analysis of pH and biofilm formation. Cement-sand mortar cubes containing KNUC513 exhibited greater compressive strength than mineral-forming bacteria (Sporosarcina pasteurii and Arthrobacter crystallopoietes KNUC403). To determine the biofilm effect, Dnase I was used to suppress the biofilm formation of KNUC513. Field emission scanning electron microscopy image revealed the direct involvement of organic-inorganic substance in cement-sand mortar.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.41-51
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• 2017

Microbial processes that bind heavy metals and form minerals are widespread, and they represent a basic aspect of biogeochemistry. Some microorganisms can crystallize minerals by secreting a specific enzyme. In particular, calcite ($CaCO_3$) precipitation is an important part of biomineralization, and has been studied extensively because of its wide application in civil engineering technology. This process provides an effective way to stabilize heavy metals within a relatively stable crystal phase. In this study, biomineralization of calcite by three urea-hydrolyzing indigenous bacterial strains was investigated by microbiological analyses. Three bacterial strains were isolated from the sludge of B mine in Mexico and each bacterial strain was identified by the cellular fatty acid composition and 16S rRNA partial sequencing analysis. The results of the identification analysis showed that these strains were closest to Sporosarcina pasteurii, Kurthia gibsonii, and Paenibacillus polymyxa. We found that the optimum conditions for growth of these indigenous bacteria were $30-40^{\circ}C$ and pH range of 7-8. Microbiological analyses showed the possibility that the bioaccumulated heavy metals ions were deposited around the cell as crystalline carbonate minerals under the optimum conditions. The findings of our study suggest that the indigenous bacterial strains play an important role in heavy metal immobilization.