Applicability of biocementation for organic soil and its effect on permeability

In past few years, the use of bacterial calcium carbonate precipitation (<i>biocementation</i>) has become popular as a ground improvement technique for sandy soil. However, this technique was not applied to organic soil. This study focused on bacterial calcium carbonate precipitation and its effect on permeability in organic soil. A special injection system was prepared for inducing bacterial solution to the samples. The bacterial solution supplied to the samples by gravity for 4 days in specific molds designed for this work. Calcite precipitation was observed by monitoring pH value and measuring amount of calcium carbonate. Change in the permeability was measured before and after <i>biocementation</i>. The test results showed that the pH values indicates that the treatment medium is appropriate for calcite precipitation, and amount of precipitated calcium carbonate in organic soil increased about 20% from untreated one. It was also found that the <i>biocementation</i> can be considered as an effective method for reducing permeability of organic soil. The results were supported by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis.