Study on the durability of the biocementation treatment of a Portuguese motorway slope

Biocementationconsists in using biological agents such as bacteria or enzymes to promote the precipitation of calcium carbonate. This environmentally sustainable technique was applied to treat an excavation slope in sandy soil on a Portuguese motorway, aiming to prevent erosion and the formation of ravines caused by water flow. The slope has been monitored for over one year as part of an ongoing project funded by FCT (ref. PTDC/ECI-EGC/1086/2021). The results of the first campaigns are presented, consisting in the time evolution of the amounts of calcium carbonate. The results confirm the durability of the treatment, also confirmed by laboratorial tests performed on samples of the same soil treated with the same protocol and after being submitted to 10 wetting and drying cycles.