Bacillus cereus KLUVAA Mediated Biocement Production Using Hard Water and Urea

In the present study, a potential bacterial strain with maximum urease activity was isolated from urea-rich paddy field soil for biocement production. The bacterial isolate was screened using Christensen selective agar media and named as KLUVAA. This isolate was found to be tolerant up to 10 % urea. 16S rRNA sequencing analysis identified the isolate KLUVAA as Bacillus cereus. Biocement production was carried out using tap water with 431.7 mg L-1 of hardness as a natural source of calcium. Functional groups present in biocement were analysed using FT-IR spectrum. The morphology and elemental composition of the biocement was studied using SEM with EDS mapping and XRD analyses. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to study the thermal stability of the microbial biocement. Further, process parameters were optimized for enhancing the yield of biocement.