Attachment on mortar surfaces by cyanobacterium Gloeocapsa PCC73106 and
sequestration of CO2 by microbially induced calcium carbonate
Abstract
Cyanobacterial carbonate precipitation induced by cells and
extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) enhances the mortar durability.
The percentage of cell/EPS attachment regulates the effectiveness of the
mortar restoration. This study investigates the cell coverage on mortar
and microbially induced carbonate precipitation. Statistical analysis of
results from scanning electron and fluorescence microscopy show that the
cell coverage was higher in the presence of UV-killed cells than living
cells. Cells preferably attached to cement paste than sand grains, with
a difference of one order of magnitude. The energy dispersive X-ray
spectroscopy analyses and Raman mapping suggest cyanobacteria used
atmospheric CO2 to precipitate carbonates.