Proof of Concept: Biocement for Road Repair

Road repair is an expensive operation every year. This cost can be greatly reduced if waste materials from the mining and biofuel industries can be used to substitute conventional materials for road repair or construction. The objective of this project is to develop methods to produce a new construction material, biocement, using waste products and apply the new material for road repair and construction. Two types of waste were used in this study. One is limestone fines produced from a limestone mine in Iowa. Another is organic acids, a byproduct produced from a pyrolysis-based biofuel manufacturing process. The limestone fines and organic acids can be used to produce biocement under ambient temperature in an inexpensive way. The cost-effective biocement can be used as a substitute for expensive cement for road repairs and construction. Biocement grout, or biogrout, can be injected directly into cavities or cracks in pavement for road repair. As the viscosity of biogrout is low, biogrout can penetrate better into the road pavement than cement grout. Biocement-mixed aggregate can be used for road base or subbase construction. Biocement solutions can also be applied directly on shoulders as a stabilizer or on unpaved roads as a dust control agent. The focus of this project is on the development of cost-effective biocement products and their effectiveness for road repair. Once the methods for biocement production and applications are established in laboratory scale, field experiments can be carried out as a follow-up study.

• Record URL:
  http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1128&context=intrans_reports
• 
• Summary URL:
  http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/intrans_reports/129
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/29079
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Iowa State University, Ames

  Institute for Transportation
  Ames, IA  United States  50010-8664

  Midwest Transportation Center

  2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
  Ames, IA  United States  50010-8664

  Department of Transportation

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Chu, Jian
  • Wen, Zhiyou
• Publication Date: 2015-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: 18p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acids; Cement; Cost effectiveness; Grout; Highway maintenance; Limestone; Waste products (Materials)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; I30: Materials; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01570255
• Record Type: Publication
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC37
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 21 2015 9:37AM