A Review on Biological Process for Improvement of Soil Properties in Geotechnical Engineering

Mr. Rustam Hafizyar, Mr. Gul Rahman Abdulrahimzai

Volume 1 Issue 1 | Sep 2019

DOI: 10.31841/KJET.2021.8

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Abstract

The biological processing of soil, also termed as the bio-mediated soil improvement method, is known to improve the engineering properties of soil and other construcation materials in terms of their environmental sustainability and performance. This paper reviews the soil microorganism process and other environmental factors that affect their metabolic activities and their geometric compatibility with the soil particle sizes. Two approaches are practiced in geotechnical engineering; biologically-induced and biologically-controlled mineralization. Environmental and other factors that may be encountered in situ during microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) and their influences on the process were identified and presented. Improvements in the engineering properties of soil such as strength/stiffness and permeability as evaluated in some studies were explored. Potential applications of the process in geotechnical engineering and the challenges of field application of the process were identified.