THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY IN MICROBIAL GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Microbial geotechnical engineering technology, as a novel and eco-friendly approach for rock and soil improvement and reinforcement, holds significant promise. However, constrained by theoretical limitations and research methodologies, this technology still faces several shortcomings, hindering its efficient implementation and becoming a bottleneck for large-scale field applications. The key to improving curing efficiency lies in clarifying its underlying principles and influence mechanisms. This paper reviews the current research status of Microbial Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation technology(MICP). It systematically summarizes the curing principles and the physical and mechanical properties of improved rock and soil. The analysis suggests that curing efficiency is mainly influenced by the reactant itself and the external environment. While MICP technology has found applications in soil solidification, crack repair, anti-seepage treatment, pollution repair, and microbial cement, it remains limited to laboratory settings due to challenges like homogeneous mineralization, uneconomical reactants, short activity periods, significant environmental interference from microorganisms and urease, incidental toxicity of metabolites, and poor field application. The paper concludes by proposing potential breakthroughs and improvement directions for these shortcomings. It highlights the advantages of using soybean meal for bacterial expansion and urease supply, as well as the environmental friendliness and economy of utilizing phosphogypsum as an on-site calcium source. These suggestions aim to provide reference points for researchers and practitioners engaged in microbial geotechnical engineering research and technology development.