Mineral Type Impact on Thermal Conductivity of Biocement and Biocemented Sand

TL;DR

This paper experimentally examines how different calcium carbonate mineral types affect the thermal conductivity of biocement and biocemented sand, revealing calcite's higher TC compared to vaterite.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how CaCO3 polymorphs influence thermal properties of biocemented materials, highlighting calcite's superior thermal conductivity.

Findings

Calcite-rich biocement has higher thermal conductivity than vaterite-rich biocement.

Vaterite-rich biocement exhibits inherently lower thermal conductivity.

Limited TC improvement in vaterite-rich biocemented sand due to mineral properties.

Abstract

This study experimentally investigates the influence of CaCO3 polymorphs on the thermal conductivity (TC) of biocement and biocemented sand. Calcite-rich biocements consistently showed higher TC than vaterite-dominated ones, regardless of density or saturation. Vaterite-rich biocement, resulting from rapid precipitation and elevated organic content, yields inherently lower TC. This study shed light on the limited TC improvement observed in vaterite-rich biocemented sand.