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fapjack
Title



Registered: 07/26/07
Posts: 16,574
Loc: Central New Jersey
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The 'living concrete' that can heal itself 1
#21682065 - 05/15/15 08:03 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Not mushroom related, but bacillus is a pretty common contaminant so I figured I would post it.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/14/tech/bioconcrete-delft-jonkers/ (CNN)It's the world's most popular building material, and ever since the Romans built the pantheon from it some 2,000 years ago, we've been trying to find ways to make concrete more durable.
No matter how carefully it is mixed or reinforced, all concrete eventually cracks, and under some conditions, those cracks can lead to collapse.
"The problem with cracks in concrete is leakage," explains professor Henk Jonkers, of Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands.
"If you have cracks, water comes through -- in your basements, in a parking garage. Secondly, if this water gets to the steel reinforcements -- in concrete we have all these steel rebars -- if they corrode, the structure collapses."
But Jonkers has come up with an entirely new way of giving concrete a longer life.
"We have invented bioconcrete -- that's concrete that heals itself using bacteria," he says.
The bioconcrete is mixed just like regular concrete, but with an extra ingredient -- the "healing agent." It remains intact during mixing, only dissolving and becoming active if the concrete cracks and water gets in.
Jonkers, a microbiologist, began working on it in 2006, when a concrete technologist asked him if it would be possible to use bacteria to make self-healing concrete.
It took Jonkers three years to crack the problem -- but there were some tricky challenges to overcome.
"You need bacteria that can survive the harsh environment of concrete," says Jonkers. "It's a rock-like, stone-like material, very dry."
Concrete is extremely alkaline and the "healing" bacteria must wait dormant for years before being activated by water.
Jonkers chose bacillus bacteria for the job, because they thrive in alkaline conditions and produce spores that can survive for decades without food or oxygen.
"The next challenge was not only to have the bacteria active in concrete, but also to make them produce repair material for the concrete -- and that is limestone," Jonkers explains.
In order to produce limestone the bacilli need a food source. Sugar was one option, but adding sugar to the mix would create soft, weak, concrete.
In the end, Jonkers chose calcium lactate, setting the bacteria and calcium lactate into capsules made from biodegradable plastic and adding the capsules to the wet concrete mix.
We are combining nature with construction materials
Henk Jonkers, Delft University
When cracks eventually begin to form in the concrete, water enters and open the capsules.
The bacteria then germinate, multiply and feed on the lactate, and in doing so they combine the calcium with carbonate ions to form calcite, or limestone, which closes up the cracks.
Now Jonkers hopes his concrete could be the start of a new age of biological buildings.
"It is combining nature with construction materials," he says. "Nature is supplying us a lot of functionality for free -- in this case, limestone-producing bacteria.
If we can implement it in materials, we can really benefit from it, so I think it's a really nice example of tying nature and the built environments together in one new concept."
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passifloracaerulea



Registered: 11/13/10
Posts: 10,485
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: fapjack]
#21682184 - 05/15/15 08:52 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Finally a good use for gmo tech!
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fapjack
Title



Registered: 07/26/07
Posts: 16,574
Loc: Central New Jersey
Last seen: 3 years, 10 months
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I'd say increasing yields has done a lot more for humanity than fixing concrete ever will. Life modifies itself, GMOs are basically controlled mutations that might have otherwise happened on their own millions of years from now or could have potentially been created through selective breeding over several thousand years. Its a time saver. I really think most of the negativity against GMOs is because of ignorance of the whole process. Monsanto being one of the bigger companies behind the technology certainly doesn't help.
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Revok
I Am OTD

Registered: 08/29/12
Posts: 10,355
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: fapjack]
#21682282 - 05/15/15 09:20 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
fapjack said: Life modifies itself, GMOs are basically controlled mutations that might have otherwise happened on their own millions of years from now or could have potentially been created through selective breeding over several thousand years. Its a time saver.
Just like the extinction of so many animals. We are just streamlining the process. Give yourselves a hand humanity.
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Jokeshopbeard
Humble Student

Registered: 11/30/11
Posts: 26,088
Loc: Deep in the system
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: Revok]
#21682476 - 05/15/15 10:32 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
KafkasDog said:
Quote:
fapjack said: Life modifies itself, GMOs are basically controlled mutations that might have otherwise happened on their own millions of years from now or could have potentially been created through selective breeding over several thousand years. Its a time saver.
Just like the extinction of so many animals. We are just streamlining the process. Give yourselves a hand humanity.
Good point, well made.
-------------------- Let it be seen that you are nothing. And in knowing that you are nothing... there is nothing to lose, there is nothing to gain. What can happen to you? Something can happen to the body, but it will either heal or it won't. What's the big deal? Let life knock you to bits. Let life take you apart. Let life destroy you. It will only destroy what you are not. --Jac O'keeffe
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mastercultivator
Master Cultivator


Registered: 08/27/13
Posts: 653
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: fapjack]
#21682477 - 05/15/15 10:33 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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I don't think it is GMO it is just a practical application with bacteria we have naturally.
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    I'm awesome sauce with a dash of sunshine.
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Mental Taco



Registered: 07/02/14
Posts: 2,290
Loc: Hell
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That is some real cool shit right there! The things we are becoming capable of nowadays with bacteria anything from making fuel to fixing concrete. Just like fungi bacteria is a very old, diverse, and complex organisms. My only fear is the mutation of the "bad" bacterias that are making them stronger and more resillient against antibiotics.
-------------------- Did you not know that the royal hunting grounds are always forbidden?
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tryptkaloids
Learner



Registered: 02/08/15
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: Mental Taco]
#21682916 - 05/15/15 12:33 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Mental Taco said: That is some real cool shit right there! The things we are becoming capable of nowadays with bacteria anything from making fuel to fixing concrete. Just like fungi bacteria is a very old, diverse, and complex organisms. My only fear is the mutation of the "bad" bacterias that are making them stronger and more resillient against antibiotics.
this is why we sould stop taking antibiotics so frequently. i say let microevolution take place
-------------------- "Remember, kids, the difference between science and screwing around is writing it down" -adam savage Flowchart for Recommended plan of action. Learn the tried and true way to grow mushrooms Use the Damn search engine After you know what you're doing, take a break Pick a book, Make some chips! Josex said:Don't take the site seriously bro, ain't worth it.
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Mr.PhilCybin
Master Baiter


Registered: 06/13/11
Posts: 11,642
Loc: Gnarnia
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: tryptkaloids]
#21683190 - 05/15/15 01:39 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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this is awesome
-------------------- I'm stupid, Falcon91Wolvrn03 is smart. I'm ugly, Falcon91Wolvrn03 is beautiful. I'm a loser, Falcon91Wolvrn03 is a winner. Someday, I hope to be like Falcon91Wolvrn03 but secretly know I never will.
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mastercultivator
Master Cultivator


Registered: 08/27/13
Posts: 653
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: Mr.PhilCybin]
#21683321 - 05/15/15 02:21 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Mr.PhilCybin said: this is awesome 
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    I'm awesome sauce with a dash of sunshine.
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant



Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 16,687
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: The 'living concrete' that can heal itself [Re: Mental Taco]
#21706827 - 05/21/15 03:20 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
mastercultivator said: I don't think it is GMO it is just a practical application with bacteria we have naturally.
Quote:
...they combine the calcium with carbonate ions to form calcite, or limestone, which closes up the cracks.
I believe this procoess occurs in nature.
Quote:
fapjack said: I really think most of the negativity against GMOs is because of ignorance of the whole process. Monsanto being one of the bigger companies behind the technology certainly doesn't help.
As food, GMO's create a (Bt) toxin, in every cell, in order to repel insects, or they are made more tolerant to harsh (subsidized) herbicides, the residues of which, make it to your dinnerplate. They reportedly change gut flora, and genes migrate into weeds and other crops. Disinterested farmers have then been charged for the theft of intellectual property, which had contaminated their land.
Quote:
Mental Taco said: My only fear is the mutation of the "bad" bacterias that are making them stronger and more resillient against antibiotics.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have not evolved a new capability, whether by natural or artificial selection. Instead, they have lost the ability to create an enzyme, which should normally turn the antibiotic into a poison. It is an example of de-evolution. Overall, "super bugs" may actually be less vigorous, for the net loss of genetic information.
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