Comparative study of EICP treatment methods on the mechanical properties of sandy soil

Abstract

This study analyzed the effect of different treatment methods in enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) on the mechanical properties of soil. Soybean crude urease was used to catalyze the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). A multiple-phase method was proposed and further compared with commonly practiced EICP treatment methods (including the one-phase method, two-phase method, and premix-and-compact method) from the aspects of chemical conversion efficiency, CaCO3 precipitation distribution, permeability, and unconfined compressive strength. Based on the findings, the characteristics of each method were further discussed and summarized. Although the enzymatic CaCO3 precipitation generated from all the treatment methods could potentiate the soil strength to a great or less degree, using the proposed multiple-phase method could bring about a high chemical conversion efficiency, uniform distribution of CaCO3 as well as preferable permeability retention. In addition, the multiple-phase method could significantly improve the efficiency of urease usage.

Keywords

• Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP)
• Treatment method
• Multiple-phase method
• Soil improvement
• Mechanical property