Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering
Soil treatment and improvement is commonly performed in the field of geotechnical engineering. Methods and materials to achieve this such as soil stabilization and mixing with cementitious binders have been utilized in engineered soil applications since the beginning of human civilization. Demand fo...
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doaj-665702bab60f4a05b2e47deeb00029142020-11-24T20:59:06ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502016-03-018325110.3390/su8030251su8030251Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical EngineeringIlhan Chang0Jooyoung Im1Gye-Chun Cho2Geotechnical Engineering Research Institute, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), Goyang 10223, KoreaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, KoreaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, KoreaSoil treatment and improvement is commonly performed in the field of geotechnical engineering. Methods and materials to achieve this such as soil stabilization and mixing with cementitious binders have been utilized in engineered soil applications since the beginning of human civilization. Demand for environment-friendly and sustainable alternatives is currently rising. Since cement, the most commonly applied and effective soil treatment material, is responsible for heavy greenhouse gas emissions, alternatives such as geosynthetics, chemical polymers, geopolymers, microbial induction, and biopolymers are being actively studied. This study provides an overall review of the recent applications of biopolymers in geotechnical engineering. Biopolymers are microbially induced polymers that are high-tensile, innocuous, and eco-friendly. Soil–biopolymer interactions and related soil strengthening mechanisms are discussed in the context of recent experimental and microscopic studies. In addition, the economic feasibility of biopolymer implementation in the field is analyzed in comparison to ordinary cement, from environmental perspectives. Findings from this study demonstrate that biopolymers have strong potential to replace cement as a soil treatment material within the context of environment-friendly construction and development. Moreover, continuing research is suggested to ensure performance in terms of practical implementation, reliability, and durability of in situ biopolymer applications for geotechnical engineering purposes.http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/3/251soil treatmentengineered soilgeotechnical engineeringbiopolymerenvironmentally-friendlyCO2 emissionsoil strengthening |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ilhan Chang Jooyoung Im Gye-Chun Cho |
spellingShingle |
Ilhan Chang Jooyoung Im Gye-Chun Cho Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering Sustainability soil treatment engineered soil geotechnical engineering biopolymer environmentally-friendly CO2 emission soil strengthening |
author_facet |
Ilhan Chang Jooyoung Im Gye-Chun Cho |
author_sort |
Ilhan Chang |
title |
Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering |
title_short |
Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering |
title_full |
Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering |
title_fullStr |
Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering |
title_full_unstemmed |
Introduction of Microbial Biopolymers in Soil Treatment for Future Environmentally-Friendly and Sustainable Geotechnical Engineering |
title_sort |
introduction of microbial biopolymers in soil treatment for future environmentally-friendly and sustainable geotechnical engineering |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2016-03-01 |
description |
Soil treatment and improvement is commonly performed in the field of geotechnical engineering. Methods and materials to achieve this such as soil stabilization and mixing with cementitious binders have been utilized in engineered soil applications since the beginning of human civilization. Demand for environment-friendly and sustainable alternatives is currently rising. Since cement, the most commonly applied and effective soil treatment material, is responsible for heavy greenhouse gas emissions, alternatives such as geosynthetics, chemical polymers, geopolymers, microbial induction, and biopolymers are being actively studied. This study provides an overall review of the recent applications of biopolymers in geotechnical engineering. Biopolymers are microbially induced polymers that are high-tensile, innocuous, and eco-friendly. Soil–biopolymer interactions and related soil strengthening mechanisms are discussed in the context of recent experimental and microscopic studies. In addition, the economic feasibility of biopolymer implementation in the field is analyzed in comparison to ordinary cement, from environmental perspectives. Findings from this study demonstrate that biopolymers have strong potential to replace cement as a soil treatment material within the context of environment-friendly construction and development. Moreover, continuing research is suggested to ensure performance in terms of practical implementation, reliability, and durability of in situ biopolymer applications for geotechnical engineering purposes. |
topic |
soil treatment engineered soil geotechnical engineering biopolymer environmentally-friendly CO2 emission soil strengthening |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/3/251 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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