The regulation mechanism of bacteria on the properties of biominerals

Abstract Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) has broad application prospects in the field of engineering materials. To discover the difference in the impact of different factors on mineralized products, In this paper, the different components of bacterial solution were separated to induced carbonate precipitation and used deionized water as a reference group. The results of pH value and product formation measurement show that the constant alkaline environment is maintained in simulated solutions after mineralization for 24 h. Due to the differences in the regulation mechanism of crystal growth between macromolecular organics and cells, the macromolecular organic matters inhibit the formation of products while the bacterial cells are in contrast. The results of XRD (diffraction of X-rays) and infrared spectrum demonstrate that different components separated from bacterial solution influence the process of mineralization, which will result in differences in crystal plane growth. The chemical bond of different wavelength shifts, especially the vibration absorption positions of carbonate at a wavenumber of 1458 cm−1. The SEM result indicates that the microstructure of the product is also changed. Compared with the products produced in deionized water, spherical calcium carbonate particles are easily formedin solutions with different components, and the particles size are different. The particles size induced by cells is minimum, which is about 4.71 μm. This study indicates that calcium carbonate is regulated by multiple factors, and it will helpful for regulation of products.