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Doctor James Minto

Research Fellow

Civil and Environmental Engineering

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Personal statement

I am a Chancellor's Fellow in the Civil & Environmental Engineering department where I work on developing low viscosity alternative grouting materials for subsurface engineering works and investigate fundamental flow processes in fractured and porous media.

One such grout we are developing utilises naturally occurring soil bacteria Sporosarcina pasteurii to produce calcium carbonate via a biochemical reaction. The process is termed microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) and is an exciting and multidisciplinary field combining microbiology, geology, hydraulics and subsurface engineering with the potential, for certain applications, to replace the use of cement and chemical grouts with a less expensive, less toxic and low CO2 鈥渂颈辞-驳谤辞耻迟鈥�.

Our aim is to develop the MICP process for rock fracture sealing and ground improvement then demonstrate the feasibility of the process at the large scale. Our work combines micro-scale experiments characterised by 4D X-ray CT with large scale laboratory experiments and multi-scale numerical modelling.

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Prize And Awards

Recipient
25/5/2023
Recipient
28/4/2023

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Publications

Sang Guijie, , ,
Biogeotechnics Vol 4 (2026)
Castro Gloria M, , , , ,
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Vol 152 (2025)
, ,
Biogeotechnics (2025)
Sang Guijie, , ,
Biogeotechnics (2025)
, ,
Energies Vol 18 (2025)
Akhurst Maxine, Edlmann Katriona, Kirk Karen, Mosca Ilaria, Pearce Jonathan, Williams John, Flowerdew Michael, Joss Matt, Jahanbakhsh Amir, Marr Isobel, Fraga Denis, Trusler Martin, Farrell Natalie, Nixon Sophie, Walker Leanne, Armstrong Lindsey-Marie, Dbouk Wassim, Manias Panos, Teagle Damon, Turnock Stephen, Vakili Seyedvahid, ,
Frontiers Report Frontiers Report (2025)

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Professional Activities

Participant
20/5/2025
Invited speaker
18/3/2024
Invited speaker
5/6/2023
Invited speaker
20/3/2023
Participant
18/5/2022
Invited speaker
4/4/2022

Projects

Minto, James (Principal Investigator) Salter, Philip (Research Co-investigator)
10-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2026
El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Zhang, Qi (Co-investigator) Minto, James (Co-investigator) Castro, Gloria (Co-investigator) Divers, Matt (Co-investigator) Dobson, Kate (Co-investigator)
Fungi play vital roles in natural soil ecosystems in the decomposition of organic matter, carbon cycling, nutrient distribution and symbiosis with plants. It is believed that soil fungi and their role in plant-soil feedback processes will play a critical role in achieving global food security amidst land scarcity and soil and water degradation. Furthermore, fungi can offer us solutions to engineering challenges including: remediation of contaminated land and stabilisation of slopes by modifying soil hydraulic and mechanical behaviour. This proposal aims to investigate in fully 3D conditions for the first time the controls on the growth of saprotrophic fungi in soil.
13-Jan-2024 - 17-Jan-2024
Minto, James (Principal Investigator) Dobson, Kate (Co-investigator) Salter, Philip (Post Grad Student) Divers, Matt (Co-investigator)
The development of underground storage for CO2 and H2 is an essential part of the green energy transition provided we can prevent leakage into groundwater and the atmosphere. Enzyme induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) is a novel bio-cementation technique that can create the necessary impermeable barriers in porous host rocks where traditional cements and grouts cannot. At present however, limited understanding of the dynamics of EICP, calcite crystal growth, and how this is related to properties of the porous media is slowing development of EICP technologies for real-world deployment. This experiment will use synchrotron XCT to deliver much needed insight into these processes.
20-Jan-2024 - 24-Jan-2024
Dobson, Kate (Principal Investigator) Minto, James (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2027
Minto, James (Principal Investigator) El Mountassir, Grainne (Co-investigator)
08-Jan-2024 - 28-Jan-2024
El Mountassir, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Dobson, Kate (Co-investigator) Zhang, Qi (Co-investigator) Fathollahi, Alireza (Co-investigator) Minto, James (Co-investigator)
XCT beamtime awarded by DIAMOND Light Source, equivalent value of allocated time 拢60,288 (Session: MG36176-2)
01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2024

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Contact

Doctor James Minto
Research Fellow
Civil and Environmental Engineering

Email: james.minto@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted