Enhanced biological treatment of sandy soils through the application of chicken manure as a supplementation material

• Effect of composted chicken manure (CM) to enhance biological soil treatment is assessed. • UCS, UPV, and WA tests are performed to assess the mechanical characteristics of MICP-CM-treated sands. • Microstructural analyses confirm the raise of calcite crystals due to bio-treatment. • CM replacing urea in the MICP process significantly enhances the mechanical properties of bio-cemented soils. • CM-enhanced bio-mediated soils exhibit superb performance during freeze-thaw cycles. Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) is an eco-friendly method for improving sandy soils, relying on micro-organisms that require nitrogen and essential nutrients to induce carbonate mineral precipitation. Given the substantial annual generation of chicken manure (CM) and the associated challenges in its disposal resulting in environmental pollution, the nutrient-rich composted form of this waste material is proposed in this study as a supplementary additive (along with more costly industrial reagents, e.g., urea) to provide the necessary carbon and nitrogen for the MICP process. To this end, different CM contents (5 %, 10 %, and 15 %) along with various concentrations of cementation solution (1 M, 1.5 M, and 2 M) are employed in multiple improvement cycles to augment the efficiency of the MICP technique. Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV), and Water Absorption (WA) tests are performed to assess the mechanical properties of the samples before and after exposure to freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles, while SEM, XRD, and FTIR analyses are carried out to delineate the formation of calcite within the porous structure of MICP-CM-treated sands. The findings suggest that an optimum percentage of CM (10 %) in the MICP process not only contributes to environmental conservation but also significantly enhances all the mechanical properties of bio-cemented sandy soils due to markedly improved bonding within their porous fabric. The results also show that although prolonged exposure to consecutive F-T cycles causes a reduction in strength and stiffness of enhanced MICP-treated soils, the mechanical properties of such geo-composites still remain within an acceptable range for optimal CM-enhanced bio-cemented mixtures, significantly superior to those of MICP-treated sands.