Biogrout is a method for reinforcement of granular soil. In the Biogrout process,
calcium carbonate is produced. This solid connects the grains, and therefore the strength of the soil is increased. The calcium carbonate is formed with the use of micro-organisms. Experiments and numerical simulations have been performed to demonstrate the process under various conditions. In this paper, it has been examined whether a reactive transport model can be used to describe a Biogrout experiment that was performed in a column with a length of 5 m. Four different models for the course of the reaction rate are considered.
The concentration of micro-organisms and the reaction rate are fine-tuned in order to find a description of the experiment that is a best fit for the particular model. This is done by minimizing the error between the experimental and numerical results for the concentration of calcium carbonate and the by-product of the reaction.@en