ABSTRACT
As a new scientic and engineering discipline, construction biotechnology has developed exponentially over the last decade. The major directions of this discipline are the selection of microorganisms and development of biotechnologies for the following: (1) the production of construction biomaterials and (2) the performance of microbially mediated construction processes, mainly in geotechnical engineering. Construction biotechnology products, which can be used in construction and geotechnical engineering, include low-cost, sustainable, and environmentally friendly microbial biocements and biogrouts, microbial polysaccharides as cement admixtures, microbial coatings, and biodegradable bioplastics for temporary construction.
The bioagents that are used in construction biotechnologies are pure or enrichment cultures of microorganisms, crude enzyme compositions, or the activated indigenous microorganisms of soil. Due to the large scale of construction processes, construction biotechnologies must be low-cost processes with nonaseptic cultivation of microorganisms using cheap or even waste organic and inorganic nutrients, with no concentration or purication stages.
