Effects of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets on the biostabilization of recycled sands for geotechnical fill applications

Biostabilization techniques including plant enzyme induced calcite precipitation (EICP) and microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) represent promising and environmentally friendly methods for improving the engineering properties of recycled geomaterials for geotechnical fill applications. In this study, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets were dispersed and utilized as nano-additives in the EICP and MICP reaction processes to facilitate the precipitation of calcium carbonate polymorphs (CaCO₃) in washed recycled sands (RS) derived from construction and demolition (C&D) wastes for geotechnical fill applications. The investigation comprised a systematic range of biological and chemical microscopic and macroscopic experiments intending to stabilize the RS for geotechnical fill applications. The study results suggested that using h-BN nanosheets did not have a notable impact on bacterial growth or the functioning of bacterial and plant enzyme activity. In addition, it was observed that the optimal addition of h-BN nanosheet additives substantially increased CaCO₃ precipitation by up to 34 % and 28 % in the EICP and MICP reaction processes respectively, which can be postulated to be due to the nanosheets acting as nucleation sites throughout the high surface area and negatively surface charge. Furthermore, the introduction of h-BN nanosheets led to a significant enhancement in the performance of unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the stabilized RS through nanofillers and reinforcements, with improvements of up to 20 % and 13 % in the biostabilization of RS using the EICP and MICP after 10 treatment cycles. Detailed analyses, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging, revealed that h-BN nanosheets, with a substantial surface area and effective chemical functional groups, interconnected with the CaCO₃ mineral surface. Overall, the study suggests that integrating effective additives can improve the utilization of EICP and MICP in geotechnical fill applications, namely in road embankments and pavements, whilst providing both commercial viability and enhanced performance.