Abstract
Construction biotechnology includes research and development of construction materials and processes that make use of various microbes. The present technology landscape gives a perspective on how microbes have been used in construction industry as cement and concrete additives by analyzing patents filed in this technology arena. All patents related to the technology of interest published globally to date have been reviewed. The earliest patent filing in this technology domain was recorded in the year 1958 and the patenting activity reached its peak around mid to late 1990s. The early technology was mainly focused on microbial polysaccharides and other metabolic products as additives. Year 2002 onwards, biomineralization has taken precedence over the other technologies with consistent patent filings indicating a shift in innovation focus. Japan has been the global leader with highest number of patents filed on application of microbes in construction industry. Southeast University, China has topped the patent assignee list with maximum number of filings followed by Kajima Corp. and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. Most patent applications have claimed microbe based bio-products. Construction-related microbial technologies are mainly based on activity of different microorganisms such as urease-producing, acidogenic, halophilic, alkaliphilic, nitrate and iron-reducing bacteria. Sporosarcina pasteurii has been the most widely used microbe for biomineralization.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- CPC:
-
Cooperative patent classification
- IPC:
-
International patent classification
- MICP:
-
Microbially induced carbonate precipitation
References
Achal V, Pan X, Fu Q, Zhang D (2012) Biomineralization based remediation of As (III) contaminated soil by Sporosarcina ginsengisoli. J Hazard Mater 201:178–184. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.11.067
Aryanti D, Handayani NA, Hadiyanto H (2011) An overview of biocement production from microalgae. Int J Sci Eng 2(2):31–33. doi:10.12777/ijse.2.2.31-33
Benhelal E, Zahedi G, Shamsaei E, Bahadori A (2013) Global strategies and potentials to curb CO2 emissions in cement industry. J Clean Prod 51:142–161. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.10.049
Bertron A (2014) Understanding interactions between cementitious materials and microorganisms: a key to sustainable and safe concrete structures in various contexts. Mater Struct 47(11):1787–1806. doi:10.1617/s11527-014-0433-1
BioCementTechnology—Official website. Available at: http://biocementtech.com/company/#about-biocement Accessed 26 Dec 2016
bioMASON—Official website. Available at: http://biomason.com/about-us/ Accessed 27 Oct 2016
Bindschedler S, Cailleau G, Verrecchia E (2016) Role of fungi in the biomineralization of calcite. Minerals 6(2):41. doi:10.3390/min6020041
Castanier S, Le Metayer-Levrel G, Perthuisot JP (1999) Ca-carbonates precipitation and limestone genesis—the microbiogeologist point of view. Sediment Geol 126 (1–4):9–23. doi:10.1016/S0037-0738(99)00028-7
De Muynck W, De Belie N, Verstraete W (2010) Microbial carbonate precipitation in construction materials: a review. Ecol Eng 36(2):118–136. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2009.02.006
Frost and Sullivan Report—Official website. Available at: http://frost.com/sublib/display-report.do?id=D768-00-2F-00-00 Accessed 10 Nov 2016
Hammes F, Verstraete W (2002) Key Roles of pH and calcium metabolism in microbial carbonate precipitation. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 1:3–7. doi:10.1023/A:1015135629155
Hong S (2007) The magic of patent information. World Intellectual Property Organization, http://wipo.int/sme/en/documents/patent_information. htm. Accessed 11 Nov 2016
Ivanov V, Stabnikov V (2016) Basic concepts on biopolymers and biotechnological admixtures for eco-efficient construction materials. In: Pacheco-Torgal F, Ivanov V, Karak N, Jonkers H (eds) Biopolymers and biotech admixtures for eco-efficient construction materials. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 13–35
Ivanov V, Chu J, Stabnikov V (2015) Basics of construction microbial biotechnology. In: Pacheco Torgal F et al (eds) Biotechnologies and biomimetics for civil engineering. Springer, Basel, pp. 21–56
Kogbara RB (2013) Encouraging microbial activity in cementitious systems: an emerging frontier in contaminated soil treatment. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 88(4):501–507. doi:10.1002/jctb.4015
Kumari D, Qian XY, Pan X, Achal V, Li Q, Gadd GM (2016) Chapter two-microbially-induced carbonate precipitation for immobilization of toxic metals. Adv Appl Microbiol 94:79–108. doi:10.1016/bs.aambs.2015.12.002
Okyay TO, Rodrigues DF (2015) Biotic and abiotic effects on CO2 sequestration during microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation. FEMS Microbiol Rev 91(3):fiv017. doi:10.1093/femsec/fiv017
Pei R, Liu J, Wang S (2015) Use of bacterial cell walls as a viscosity-modifying admixture of concrete. Cem Concr Compos 55:186–195. doi:10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2014.08.007
Plank J (2004) Applications of biopolymers and other biotechnological products in building materials. Appl Microbial Biotechnol 66(1):1–9. doi:10.1007/s00253-004-1714-3
Rahman F, Afroz S, Efaz IH, Shams R (2015) Application of microbiologically induced precipitation process in cement and concrete research: A review. Int. Conf. on Advances in Civil Infrastructure and Construction Materials, MIST, Dhaka
Ramachandran SK, Ramakrishnan V, Bang SS (2001) Remediation of concrete using micro-organisms. ACI Mater J 98(1):3–9. doi:10.14359/10154
Raut SH, Sarode DD, Lele SS (2014) Biocalcification using Bacillus pasteurii for strengthening brick masonry civil engineering structures. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 30(1):191–200. doi:10.1007/s11274-013-1439-5
Sarda D, Choonia HS, Sarode DD, Lele SS (2009) Biocalcification by Bacillus pasteurii urease: a novel application. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 36(8):111–1115
Sarkar M, Chowdhury T, Chattopadhyay B, Gachhui R, Mandal S (2014) Autonomous bioremediation of a microbial protein (bioremediase) in Pozzolana cementitious composite. J Mater Sci 49(13):4461–4468. doi:10.1007/s10853-014-8143-1
Schmidt W, Brouwers HJH, Kuehne HC, Meng B (2013) The working mechanism of starch and diutan gum in cementitious and limestone dispersions in presence of polycarboxylate ether superplasticizers. Appl Rheol 23(5):268–279. doi:10.3933/ApplRheol-23-52903
Seifan M, Samani AK, Berenjian A (2016) Bioconcrete: next generation of self-healing concrete. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100(6):2591–2602. doi:10.1007/s00253-016-7316-z
Stabnikov V, Ivanov V, Chu J (2015) Construction Biotechnology: a new area of biotechnological research and applications. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 31(9):1303–1314. doi:10.1007/s11274-015-1881-7
Sumikura M, Shiiba K (2016) Insolubilization of hexavalent chromium in highly alkaline cement sludge by anaerobic bioremediation. Bioremediat J 20(3):209–216. doi:10.1080/10889868.2016.1148008
Supino S, Malandrino O, Testa M, Sica D (2016) Sustainability in the EU cement industry: the Italian and German experiences. J Clean Prod 112:430–442. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.022
Umar M, Kassim KA, Chiet KTP (2016) Biological process of soil improvement in civil engineering: a review. J Rock Mech Geotech Eng 8(5):767–774. doi:10.1016/j.jrmge.2016.02.004
Vempada SR, Reddy SSP, Rao MS, Sasikala C (2011) Strength enhancement of cement mortar using microorganisms-an experimental study. Int J Earth Sci Eng 4:933–936
Worrell E, Price L, Martin N, Hendriks C, Meida LO (2001) Carbon dioxide emissions from the global cement industry 1. Annu Rev Energ Env 26(1):303–329. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.26.1.303
Zhu T, Dittrich M (2016) Carbonate precipitation through microbial activities in natural environment, and their potential in biotechnology: a Review. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 4:4. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2016.00004
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. R. R. Hirwani, Technical Advisor, CSIR-Unit for Research and Development of Information Products (CSIR-URDIP), Pune, India for encouragement and support. Dipti Dapurkar also thanks CSIR, India for Project Fellowship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dapurkar, D., Telang, M. A patent landscape on application of microorganisms in construction industry. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 33, 138 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-017-2302-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-017-2302-x