MICROBIAL MODIFIED GEOMATERIALS: A METHODOLOGY REVIEW

Microbial induced carbonate precipitation，an advance of biomineralization has become a focus of many geotechnical and material studies． The bio-mediated process differs from the pure chemical reaction processes for carbonate production as its reaction speed and induced carbonate properties can be controlled for the cementation and sealing purposes in civil engineering． Under certain circumstances such microbial induced carbonate can be an alternative solution to the cement，lime and epoxy materials． Chinese researchers have carried out a lot of work for the innovative technology，mainly dealing with its engineering applications． However，fundamental research on biochemo- physical mechanism underlying the technology is inadequate． The paper was based up on reviewing different fundamental mechanisms in geo-material porous media reported in publications both at home and abroad，as well as to promote the fundamental studies of the newly emerging subject．