Experimental study on tailings cementation by MICP technique with immersion curing

The filling mining method is an effective method for controlling ground stress and preventing surface subsidence in the mining field during exploitation of underground resources. Tailings can be utilized as the filling material, so as to realize the reuse of industrial waste. However, utilization of the traditional Portland cement as the cementing material for tailings leads to groundwater pollution. In addition, production of Portland cement results in consumption of a great amount of ore and air pollution. In this paper, a tailings cementation method by using the microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) technique with immersion curing is proposed. Tailings are cemented by the MICP technique with aerobic bacteria (Sporosarcina pasteurii) under a soaked curing environment. The variable control method is applied to investigate the factors influencing the cementation effects by the MICP technique with Sporosarcina pasteurii, including the bacterial solution concentration, the cementing solution concentration, the particle size of tailings, and the curing temperature. The results indicate that: when OD(600) of the Sporosarcina pasteurii solution is 1.6, the urea concentration in the cementing solution is 0.75 mol/L, the tailings are raw materials without grinding, and the curing temperature is 30°C, the cementation effect is the best. In view of uneven calcification during MICP with Sporosarcina pasteurii, mixed Sporosarcina pasteurii and Castellaniella denitrificans are used for tailings cementation. Higher strength of cemented tailings is achieved. It is proved that the MICP technique with mixed aerobic bacteria and facultative anaerobes is an effective method for tailings cementation.