PMID- 37355135
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20230911
LR  - 20230911
IS  - 1879-1026 (Electronic)
IS  - 0048-9697 (Linking)
VI  - 895
DP  - 2023 Oct 15
TI  - Growing bio-tiles using microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation.
PG  - 165050
LID - S0048-9697(23)03673-2 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165050 [doi]
AB  - Using the biomimetic process known as microbially induced calcium carbonate 
      precipitation (MICP), the growth of bio-tiles was investigated as an alternative 
      to conventionally fired ceramic tiles which require operating temperatures above 
      1000  degrees C, therefore adding to global carbon emissions. The ureolytic activity of 
      Sporosarcina pasteurii was controlled by centrifuging and dilution with fresh 
      yeast extract media. The bio-tiles were grown using a novel submersion method in 
      which custom moulds were placed in exact positions within the bio-reactor and 
      each was mixed individually from beneath. Five parameters were optimised to 
      achieve bio-tiles (dimensions of 100 x 100 x 10 mm) of breaking strength 
      comparable to conventional tiles of equivalent thickness. By optimising ureolytic 
      activity (4.0 mmol/L.min), the cementation solution concentration (0.3 M), the 
      particle size distribution (D(10) = 312 mum; D(50) = 469 mum), the volume of 
      cementation solution, as well as the addition of supplemental magnesium (0.3 M), 
      bio-tiles with a breaking strength 637 N +/- 60 N and a modulus of rupture of 
      13.0 N/mm(2) +/- 2.3 N were produced. These parameters exceed the conventional 
      standards of breaking strength and modulus of rupture of 600 N and 8 N/mm(2), 
      respectively, the standards set for tiles with a water absorption above 10 %. 
      This is also the first time that an optimum CaCO(3) precipitation rate constant 
      has been identified (0.11-0.18 day(-1)) for producing bio-tiles that meet the 
      strength properties of conventional extruded ceramic tiles. The tile 
      manufacturing technique described in this study is easy to operate and scale 
      since multiple bio-tiles can be produced in larger cementation tanks. This 
      natural tile making process also benefits the environment by operating at room 
      temperature.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
FAU - Horn, Emma Jane
AU  - Horn EJ
AD  - Civil Engineering Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South 
      Africa; Future Water Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South 
      Africa.
FAU - Huddy, Robert
AU  - Huddy R
AD  - Research Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 
      7700, South Africa.
FAU - Randall, Dyllon Garth
AU  - Randall DG
AD  - Civil Engineering Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South 
      Africa; Future Water Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South 
      Africa. Electronic address: dyllon.randall@uct.ac.za.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20230623
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Sci Total Environ
JT  - The Science of the total environment
JID - 0330500
RN  - H0G9379FGK (Calcium Carbonate)
RN  - 8W8T17847W (Urea)
RN  - 059QF0KO0R (Water)
SB  - IM
MH  - *Calcium Carbonate
MH  - *Urea
MH  - Temperature
MH  - Water
MH  - Chemical Precipitation
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Bio-materials
OT  - Cementation
OT  - Particle size
OT  - Sporosarcina pasteurii
OT  - Urea hydrolysis
COIS- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial 
      interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing 
      interests: Dyllon Randall reports financial support was provided by Anglo Gold 
      Ashanti. Emma Horn reports financial support was provided by CSIR-merSETA. Emma 
      Horn reports financial support was provided by Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.
EDAT- 2023/06/25 01:08
MHDA- 2023/09/11 06:42
CRDT- 2023/06/24 19:16
PHST- 2023/04/11 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2023/06/10 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2023/06/19 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2023/09/11 06:42 [medline]
PHST- 2023/06/25 01:08 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/06/24 19:16 [entrez]
AID - S0048-9697(23)03673-2 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165050 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Sci Total Environ. 2023 Oct 15;895:165050. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165050. 
      Epub 2023 Jun 23.