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Bacterial Growth Induced Biocementation Technology, ‘Space-Brick’ - A Proposal for Experiment at Microgravity and Planetary Environments

View ORCID ProfileAloke Kumar, Rashmi Dikshit, Nitin Gupta, Animesh Jain, View ORCID ProfileArjun Dey, Anuj Nandi, I. Venugopal, Koushik Viswanathan, N. Sridhara, A. Rajendra
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.22.914853
Aloke Kumar
1Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru-560012, India.
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  • For correspondence: aalokelab@gmail.com
Rashmi Dikshit
1Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru-560012, India.
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Nitin Gupta
1Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru-560012, India.
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Animesh Jain
1Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru-560012, India.
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Arjun Dey
2U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Old Airport Road, Bengaluru-560017
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Anuj Nandi
2U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Old Airport Road, Bengaluru-560017
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I. Venugopal
2U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Old Airport Road, Bengaluru-560017
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Koushik Viswanathan
1Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru-560012, India.
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N. Sridhara
2U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Old Airport Road, Bengaluru-560017
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A. Rajendra
2U. R. Rao Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Old Airport Road, Bengaluru-560017
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Abstract

We present results of our investigation of microbial induced calcite precipitation for manufacturing ‘space bricks’ and a proposal for study of this activity in low-earth orbit (LEO). Sporosarcina pasteurii, a urease producing bacterial strain was used to consolidate lunar simulant soil (LSS) in the form of a ‘brick’ with non-trivial strength properties. Potential of a naturally occurring polymer namely, guar gum, as an additive was investigated for enhancement in compressive strength of bio-consolidated samples. Experimental results of bio-brick exhibited an approximate 10-fold increase in compressive strength with guar gum supplementation in soil. We present results of microstructural analysis of the ‘space bricks’ and also propose a payload design for related experiments in LEO.

Footnotes

  • alokekumar{at}iisc.ac.in (AK), rashmi.sharma.dixit{at}gmail.com (RD), koushik{at}iisc.ac.in (KV), nitingupta{at}iisc.ac.in (NG)

  • arjundey{at}ursc.gov.in (AD), anuj{at}ursc.gov.in (AN), ivenu{at}leos.gov.in, sridhara{at}ursc.gov.in (NS), rajendra{at}ursc.gov.in (AR)

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted January 27, 2020.
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Bacterial Growth Induced Biocementation Technology, ‘Space-Brick’ - A Proposal for Experiment at Microgravity and Planetary Environments
Aloke Kumar, Rashmi Dikshit, Nitin Gupta, Animesh Jain, Arjun Dey, Anuj Nandi, I. Venugopal, Koushik Viswanathan, N. Sridhara, A. Rajendra
bioRxiv 2020.01.22.914853; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.22.914853
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Bacterial Growth Induced Biocementation Technology, ‘Space-Brick’ - A Proposal for Experiment at Microgravity and Planetary Environments
Aloke Kumar, Rashmi Dikshit, Nitin Gupta, Animesh Jain, Arjun Dey, Anuj Nandi, I. Venugopal, Koushik Viswanathan, N. Sridhara, A. Rajendra
bioRxiv 2020.01.22.914853; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.22.914853

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