Project Details
Projekt
EnzyMB – enzyme and microbial based biocementation
Subject Area
Biological Process Engineering
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 531186420
The construction industry, which accounts for about 15% of global CO2 emissions due to construction activities and the production of building materials, aims to achieve CO2 neutrality in the coming decades. This is also why interest in MICP (Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation) has steadily increased in recent years, particularly due to the numerous new technical applications. Examples include dust binding, road or soil stabilization, self-healing concrete, or the production of bio-bricks. Loose materials, such as sand, can be solidified through MICP by calcite formation due to microorganisms, creating calcite bridges at the contact points of the sand grains. This process usually happens with lower CO2 emissions or energy consumption compared to conventional methods. In addition to MICP, enzyme-based calcite precipitation (EICP) has been intensively researched as an alternative bio-cementation method in recent years. EICP involves the formation of calcite layers mainly with the aid of the enzymes urease and/or carbonic anhydrase (CA), without the direct use of microorganisms. EICP is attributed various advantages in comparison to MICP. However, there are currently no EICP applications in widespread practice, only laboratory and initial pilot trials. This is mainly because the production of enzymes such as urease or CA for EICP is currently far too expensive. Furthermore, there is currently a need for understanding the interplay between urease and CA, and their technical use in MICP, as well as the development and cost-effective, recombinant production of enzymes (especially CA) for the promising field of EICP. Therefore, the project's main goal is to establish a platform for the investigation and provision of microorganisms and enzymes for bio-cementation (MICP and EICP). For this purpose, suitable Bacillus strains for MICP are to be tested using an automated micro-bioreactor system in high throughput and the synergy between CA and urease is to be specifically investigated. Additionally, the selection, characterization, and provision of novel CAs for EICP use are planned. CAs will be recombinantly produced in various host organisms and, through enzyme engineering with two application partners, adapted to the needs of EICP applications (with respect to required activity, pH, and temperature stability). Furthermore, a high-throughput assay for CA is being developed to measure the formation and activity of CA in culture samples. The developed CAs are to be purified after expression and then tested in exemplary, novel EICP applications (pore filling of recycled concrete aggregate) with the partners for feasibility and performance.
DFG Programme
Research Grants (Transfer Project)
Application Partner
ENZYMASTER DEUTSCHLAND GMBH; SPZ Service GmbH
Co-Investigators
Professor Dr. Johannes Bongaerts; Professorin Dr.-Ing. Andrea Kustermann
