Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization

Bacterial biopolymers produced extracellularly due to microbial metabolic activities have gained considerable interest in various engineering applications. The major advantages of bacterial biopolymers is their in-situ production and low water solubility, eliminating the requirement for mixing in gr...

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Main Authors: Ramachandran, Asha Latha, Mukherjee, Abhijit, Dhami, Navdeep
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88265
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author Ramachandran, Asha Latha
Mukherjee, Abhijit
Dhami, Navdeep
author_facet Ramachandran, Asha Latha
Mukherjee, Abhijit
Dhami, Navdeep
author_sort Ramachandran, Asha Latha
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Bacterial biopolymers produced extracellularly due to microbial metabolic activities have gained considerable interest in various engineering applications. The major advantages of bacterial biopolymers is their in-situ production and low water solubility, eliminating the requirement for mixing in granular substrates such as soils. These properties make them highly desirable and preferable to manufactured biopolymers. But for any engineering applications, it is crucial to understand the mechanical properties of these materials, which have been less explored. This investigation is the first attempt to quantify the nano and macro mechanical properties of in-situ bacterial biopolymer dextran produced by bacterial culture Leucononstoc mesenteroids. The fundamental mechanism of bacterial biopolymer-based cementation has been revealed through their morphographic and nanomechanical testing via atomic force microscopy, nanoindentation and scanning electron micrographs. The effect of bacterially produced biopolymers and commercial biopolymers on the macro-mechanical properties of soils was then investigated via needle penetration tests. In-situ biopolymers were found to be highly effective in stabilizing soils with comparable mechanical properties as commercial biopolymers. This study has demonstrated novel methods for testing in situ polymers and opened up the channels for their applications in numerous subsurface as well as surface applications.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-882652022-05-05T06:09:35Z Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization Ramachandran, Asha Latha Mukherjee, Abhijit Dhami, Navdeep Science & Technology Technology Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Materials Science biopolymers bacterial dextran nanoindentation AFM needle penetration SCALE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES DEXTRAN NANOINDENTATION MULTISCALE STRAINS SIZE Bacterial biopolymers produced extracellularly due to microbial metabolic activities have gained considerable interest in various engineering applications. The major advantages of bacterial biopolymers is their in-situ production and low water solubility, eliminating the requirement for mixing in granular substrates such as soils. These properties make them highly desirable and preferable to manufactured biopolymers. But for any engineering applications, it is crucial to understand the mechanical properties of these materials, which have been less explored. This investigation is the first attempt to quantify the nano and macro mechanical properties of in-situ bacterial biopolymer dextran produced by bacterial culture Leucononstoc mesenteroids. The fundamental mechanism of bacterial biopolymer-based cementation has been revealed through their morphographic and nanomechanical testing via atomic force microscopy, nanoindentation and scanning electron micrographs. The effect of bacterially produced biopolymers and commercial biopolymers on the macro-mechanical properties of soils was then investigated via needle penetration tests. In-situ biopolymers were found to be highly effective in stabilizing soils with comparable mechanical properties as commercial biopolymers. This study has demonstrated novel methods for testing in situ polymers and opened up the channels for their applications in numerous subsurface as well as surface applications. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88265 10.3389/fmats.2021.681850 English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ FRONTIERS MEDIA SA fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Technology
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Materials Science
biopolymers
bacterial dextran
nanoindentation
AFM
needle penetration
SCALE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES
DEXTRAN
NANOINDENTATION
MULTISCALE
STRAINS
SIZE
Ramachandran, Asha Latha
Mukherjee, Abhijit
Dhami, Navdeep
Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization
title Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization
title_full Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization
title_fullStr Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization
title_full_unstemmed Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization
title_short Nanoscale to Macroscale Characterization of in—Situ Bacterial Biopolymers for Applications in Soil Stabilization
title_sort nanoscale to macroscale characterization of in—situ bacterial biopolymers for applications in soil stabilization
topic Science & Technology
Technology
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Materials Science
biopolymers
bacterial dextran
nanoindentation
AFM
needle penetration
SCALE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES
DEXTRAN
NANOINDENTATION
MULTISCALE
STRAINS
SIZE
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88265