Optimizing Sporosarcina pasteurii Biology and Growth for Shelf-Stable Preparations for Biocement Applications

Contemporary concrete production, which accounts for ~8% of the world’s CO₂ production, relies on Portland cement to bind aggregates. Biocement is an environmentally friendly material that relies on biological structures (enzymes, cells, and/or cellular superstructures) and/or biologically generated structures (CaCO₃ crystals) to bind aggregates. Current biocementation protocols require addition of living cultures to aggregates, which requires on-site culturing expertise and infrastructure. We have developed a strategy for producing a shelf-stable preparation of <i>Sporosarcina pasteurii</i>, a biocementation workhorse bacterium, that can be combined on-site with feedstocks and aggregates to form biocement. Scaling up and enhancing the efficacy of our novel biocementation protocol will require optimization of <i>S. pasteurii</i> growth and biology. Here, we discuss our progress toward improving the growth and biology of <i>S. pasteurii</i>, an alkaliphile with distinct nitrogen requirements, and our progress toward understanding relevant physiological characteristics of <i>S. pasteurii</i>.