Improvement of mechanical properties of bio-concrete using enterococcus faecalis and bacillus cereus

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the potential of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) and Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) in improving the properties of bio-concrete. E. faecalis and B. cereus strains were obtained from fresh urine and an acid mire water at cell concentration of 1.16×1012 and 1.3×1012 cells mL-1, respectively. The bacterial strains were inoculated in a liquid medium into the concrete with 1, 3 and 5% as replacement of water cement ratio (w/c). The ability of E. faecalis and B. cereus cells to accumulate the calcite and the decrement of pores size within bio-concrete was confirmed by SEM and EDX analysis. The results revealed that E. faecalis exhibited high efficiency for increasing of compressive and splitting tensile strength than B. cereus (23 vs. 14.2%, and 13 vs. 8.5%, respectively). These findings indicated that E. faecalis is more applicable in the bio-concrete due to its ability to enhance strength development and reduce water penetration.