Biomineralized cement-based materials: impact of inoculating vegetative bacterial cells on hydration and strength

Abstract

Biomineralization in cement-based materials has become a point of interest in recent years due to the possibility that such an approach could be used to develop a self-healing cement-based system. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of vegetative cells of Sporosarcina pasteurii on the hydration kinetics and compressive strength of cement-based materials. The hydration kinetics were greatly influenced when a bacterial solution consisting of urea-yeast extract nutrient medium and vegetative cells was used to prepare bacterial cement pastes; specifically, severe retardation was observed. In addition, an increase in calcium carbonate precipitation, particularly calcite, occurred within the bacterial pastes. Furthermore, after the first day of hydration, the bacterial mortar displayed compressive strength that was similar to or greater than the compressive strength of the neat mortar.