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Applied Sciences
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Biobased and Nature-Based Ground and Geomaterial Improvement and Soil Stabilisation
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Biobased and Nature-Based Ground and Geomaterial Improvement and Soil Stabilisation

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 2773

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Maria Mavroulidou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering and Design, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK
Interests: green concrete; alkali-activated cements; biocements
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue invites contributions in the field of ground and geomaterial improvement and soil stabilisation, focusing on nature-based or biobased methods and materials, which are becoming increasingly important to achieve natural and man-made hazard mitigation, as well as remediation and valorisation of contaminated sites and geomaterials or soil-like waste, in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.

Relevant themes include but are not limited to the development of novel/innovative biobased materials (e.g., biopolymers, bio-surfactants, bioenzymes, biocements and biogrouts, biogenically produced nanoparticles) for ground/geomaterial improvement and stabilisation, the use of vegetation or vegetative waste to stabilise soil or remediate contaminated ground and geomaterials or soil-like waste, and other biomimetic, biomediated, bioinspired or nature-based solutions that can be used in the field of ground improvement and stabilisation, for example, the development of bioinspired piling or soil nail systems, bioconcrete for soil stabilisation, bio-inspired sensors for ground improvement and soil stabilisation applications, and many others. Examples of topical targeted engineering applications include, amongst others, transport earthwork resilience, coastal and flood defences, mine tailing stabilisation, dredged sediment valorisation for agriculture or civil engineering infrastructure, contaminated site restoration, erosion and fugitive dust prevention, and prevention and mitigation of desertification.

Both fundamental research and application case studies of recently developed techniques are of relevance ranging from procedures and implementation to monitoring performance and quality assessments. For this Special Issue, we welcome submissions of laboratory or field studies, numerical modelling simulating treatment implementation and reaction evolution leading to physicochemical changes in the treated geomaterials, durability and resilience studies, life cycle analyses, and design guidelines as well as methodical literature reviews and outlook on future research directions related to sustainable bio-based, biomediated, and nature-inspired ground/geomaterial improvement and soil stabilisation practices.

Prof. Dr. Maria Mavroulidou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ground and geomaterial improvement
  • soil stabilisation
  • remediation
  • bio-inspired sensors
  • biobased materials

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3622 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) Soil Improvement Techniques
by Alena J. Raymond, Jason T. DeJong, Michael G. Gomez, Alissa Kendall, Alexandra C. M. San Pablo, Minyong Lee, Charles M. R. Graddy and Douglas C. Nelson
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(3), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15031059 - 22 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1188
Abstract
Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a biomediated ground improvement technology that uses ureolytic bacteria to precipitate calcium carbonate minerals to improve the strength and stiffness of soils. MICP can be mediated by either augmented non-native or stimulated indigenous microorganisms, resulting in [...] Read more.
Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a biomediated ground improvement technology that uses ureolytic bacteria to precipitate calcium carbonate minerals to improve the strength and stiffness of soils. MICP can be mediated by either augmented non-native or stimulated indigenous microorganisms, resulting in biocemented soils and generated aqueous ammonium (NH4+) byproducts. Although the process has been extensively investigated, the fate and transport of generated NH4+ byproducts has posed an environmental challenge and to date, their associated environmental impacts have remained poorly understood. In an effort to better quantify process impacts, a large-scale experiment was conducted involving three 3.7 m long soil columns, wherein three different ureolytic biocementation treatment approaches were employed. A life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) was performed to compare the environmental impacts and costs of these different MICP treatment approaches as well as evaluate the potential environmental benefits of NH4+ byproduct removal using post-treatment rinsing. The objective of this paper is to present the results of the LCSA study. LCSA results suggest that when treatments are consistent with those performed in this study, stimulation can be more sustainable than augmentation, and the use of lower ureolytic rates can further reduce process environmental impacts by achieving greater spatial uniformity and extent of biocementation. The LCSA outcomes also illustrate tension between the environmental benefits afforded by NH4+ byproduct removal and the life cycle impacts and costs associated with this removal. For the specific testing conditions, the injection of 1.8 pore volumes of rinse solutions to remove generated NH4+ byproducts following biocementation was found to minimize environmental impacts; however, further refinement of such approaches will likely result from future field-scale applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased and Nature-Based Ground and Geomaterial Improvement and Soil Stabilisation)
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12 pages, 1969 KiB  
Article
Bioleaching of Metal-Polluted Mine Tailings: A Comparative Approach Between Ex Situ Slurry-Phase Stirred Reactors Versus In Situ Electrokinetic Percolation
by Irene Acosta Hernández, Martín Muñoz Morales, Francisco Jesús Fernández Morales, Luis Rodríguez Romero and José Villaseñor Camacho
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 11756; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142411756 - 17 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1197
Abstract
This work compares two technologies for the remediation of metal-polluted mine tailings based on lab-scale bioleaching experiments performed in (a) conventional agitated slurry-phase reactors and (b) in situ electrokinetic percolation. While ex situ bioleaching in agitated reactors has been widely studied, only a [...] Read more.
This work compares two technologies for the remediation of metal-polluted mine tailings based on lab-scale bioleaching experiments performed in (a) conventional agitated slurry-phase reactors and (b) in situ electrokinetic percolation. While ex situ bioleaching in agitated reactors has been widely studied, only a few previous works have studied the in situ option that couples bioleaching and electrokinetics. Real mine tailings from an abandoned sphalerite mine in southern Spain were used. The leaching medium was externally generated in a bioreactor using an autochthonous acidophilic culture and then added to tailings in batch experiments. This medium enabled metal leaching from mine tailings without the stringent operating conditions required by a classic bioleaching process. Metal removal efficiencies and kinetic rate constants after 15 d of treatments were calculated. Additionally, advantages or disadvantages between the two methods were discussed. The results for the innovative EK-percolation method showed rates and efficiencies that were comparable to, and in some cases better than, those achieved with conventional stirred slurry systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased and Nature-Based Ground and Geomaterial Improvement and Soil Stabilisation)
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