Researchers at IIT-M develop math model to produce bio-cement from bacteria

Chennai: Researchers at IIT-Madras have developed a structured model to help in the production of bio-cement, which is an alternative sustainable process for cementation. It has the potential to reduce the production of carbon-dioxide (CO2) in the future.

Called ‘Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP), this process is used to make bio-cement using bacteria. The research helped to gain a better understanding of the MICP process and the ability to scale up manufacturing of bio-cement, an IIT-Madras release said.

During the UN Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow last year, around 140 countries pledged to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and achieve net-zero emissions. Cement manufacturing is among the largest CO2-producing industries. It’s extremely vital to develop alternative sustainable processes for manufacturing cement to reduce CO2 emissions. Bio-cement can be a major step in this direction.

The research team was led by Prof GK Suraishkumar (biotech department), Prof Nirav Bhatt (biotech department) and research scholar Subasree Sridhar. Their findings were published in the reputed peer-reviewed Biochemical Engineering Journal.

The researchers studied the MICP process using the bacteria, S. pasteurii. They proposed and developed a structured model for the overall ureolysis processes (uptake and breaking of urea using bacteria) to scale up the MICP process, which can be an alternative to manufacturing cement.