Shelf-Stable <i>Sporosarcina pasteurii</i> Formulation for Scalable Laboratory and Field-Based Production of Biocement.

Abstract

Biocement is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cement that is produced via microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) and has great potential to mitigate the environmental harms of cement and concrete use. Current production requires on-site bacterial cultivation and the application of live culture to target materials, lacking the convenience of stable formulas that enable broad adoption and application by nonscientific professionals. Here, we report the development of a dry shelf-stable formulation of <i>Sporosarcina pasteurii</i>, the model organism for biocement production. At laboratory scale, when inoculated at an equivalent concentration of viable cells, we show that this formulation produces biocement equal in strength to that produced using live cell cultures. We further demonstrate that this formulation forms biocement in the field within 24 h, leading to ground improvement with increased bearing capacity. These results illustrate that preserved, shelf-stable bacteria can contribute to rapid biocement production and can be adopted for scaled geotechnical and construction purposes.