Factors Affecting Soybean Crude Urease Extraction and Biocementation via Enzyme-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (EICP) for Soil Improvement

Shuang Shu, Boyang Yan, Bin Ge, Shiling Li and Hao Meng
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Shuang Shu: Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, No.1, Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China
Boyang Yan: Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, No.1, Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China
Bin Ge: Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, No.1, Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China
Shiling Li: Yancheng Surveying and Design Institute Water Resources Co., Ltd., Yancheng 224000, China
Hao Meng: Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, No.1, Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) is a new biogeotechnical ground improvement technique that uses calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) formed by biochemical processes to increase soil strength and stiffness. In this paper, crude urease extracted from soybeans was employed to catalyze the precipitation of CaCO 3 in sand. To optimize the urease extraction efficiency, factors affecting the soybean crude urease extraction, including the powdered soybean particle size, concentration, soaking time, and soaking temperature, were addressed. This paper also provided further insight regarding the impact of the urease activity of soybean crude extract on the chemical conversion efficiency and the biocementation performance in EICP. The findings revealed that the powdered soybean concentration and the particle size were the two most important factors affecting the urease activity of the soybean crude extract. The enzyme activity utilized in the EICP process might further lead to different reactant efficiencies of urea-CaCl 2 solution, and consequently, the improvement in the physical and mechanical properties of biocemented sand. Considering the chemical conversion efficiency and the biocementation performance, 60 g/L of powdered soybean was concluded as the preferred quantity for extracting the crude urease, with an enzyme activity of 6.62 mM urea min −1 . Under this condition, a chemical conversion efficiency of approximately 95% for 0.5 M urea-0.5 M CaCl 2 could be obtained in merely 12 h, and the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the EICP-treated sand exceeded 4 MPa with a CaCO 3 content of ~8%. As a high-efficient cost-effective alternative to the purified enzyme for carbonate precipitation, the soybean crude urease showed great potential for ground improvement.

Keywords: enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP); soybean crude urease; extraction efficiency; biocementation; carbonate precipitation; ground improvement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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