Treatment of Sand Using Microbial-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) for Wind Erosion Application

Microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) has been used to improve soil properties for different geotechnical applications. This research focuses on evaluating the use of MICP for the wind erosion application. The results presented in this paper represent the initial attempt to optimize the field application/process of applying MICP. This will be followed by more detailed study and wind tunnel experiments in the future. A series of spray experiments were conducted on bar sand with different bacterial and calcium chloride (CaCl2) applications. The sand was placed in a 279 x 216 x 25 mm tray at a relative density of 29%. Tests were designed to investigate different MICP treatment procedures to evaluate the effects of varying amounts of bacteria and cementation solutions on measured CaCO3 content. After each test, samples were collected from each specimen to measure CaCO3 content. The initial results presented in this paper show a non-uniform distribution of CaCO3 content throughout the sample. Furthermore, increasing the number of bacteria applications improves the precipitation of CaCO3 near the surface.