Optimization of Parameters for the Analysis of Enzyme-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (EICP) Cemented Sands

Erosion in sloping sands has been known to be seen on the side of highways, bridges, cliffs and more. One of the majors causes of erosion is storm water runoff. In order to try and improve the erosion caused by storm water runoff seen in sloping sands is by cementing the sand using Enzyme-Induced Carbonate Precipitation (EICP). When the EICP solution is used to improve erosion, it will have precipitated calcium carbonate into the sand. The amount of calcium carbonate is important as it is what binds individual sand grains together causing cementation. Every type of sand will be different causing the EICP solution to precipitate different amounts of calcium carbonate depending on the conditions of the sand. The calcium carbonate content that is found in the sand after cementation can be determined by acid digestion. The optimal optimal parameters for the acid digestion procedure have not yet been determined. For this study, different parameters that make up the acid digestion procedure were modified in order to study the variation of calcium carbonate content in the EICP cemented sand. The goal of this study is to develop a standard protocol for the determination of calcium carbonate content using acid digestion.