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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Microbiologically Induced Calcite Precipitation Mediated by Sporosarcina pasteurii
Published on: April 16, 2016
Mathematical model of biofilm induced calcite precipitation
1Department of Mathematical Sciences and Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. zhang@math.montana.edu
Abstract:
Microbially modulated carbonate precipitation is a fundamentally important phenomenon of both engineered and natural environments. In this paper, we propose a mixture model for biofilm induced calcite precipitation. The model consists of three phases - calcite, biofilm and solvent - which satisfy conservation of mass and momentum laws with addition of a free energy of mixing. The model also accounts for chemistry, mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid and electrodiffusion transport effects. Numerical simulations qualitatively capturing the dynamics of this process and revealing effects of kinetic parameters and external flow conditions are presented.
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