Abstract
In this study, mineralization during brick preparation was performed with ureolytic bacterium, Lysinibacillus fusiformis that use urine as a substrate, omitting the heat that is normally required. Artificial urine for reasons of standardization was used to grow the bacterium for bio-bricks made of clay and cement, but their mineralization was enabled by biological activity instead of by heat. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy were conducted to analyse the microstructures formed by L. fusiformis that precipitated various minerals in synthetic urine. The brick specimens were tested for compressive strength that was 59% more than control ones, whereas porosity of bio-bricks was 13% compared to 22% of control specimens. The minerals formed in the bio-bricks confirmed as struvite, apatite and calcite by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectra, were responsible for improved strength and reduced porosity. The research provided evidence in utilizing ureolytic bacteria as a mode to mineralize clay in brick production with the use of (artificial) urine as a substrate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 793-799 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Letters in Applied Microbiology |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2021 |
Keywords
- biominerals
- bricks
- calcite
- struvite
- urease
- urine