A form of bacteria with a multibillion-year history on Earth could provide a blueprint for cleaner construction in our future as an alternative to concrete, according to German scientists.
Cyanobacteria are algae-like cultures capable of photosynthesis, utilizing light, moisture, and temperature to create stromatolite structures from limestone. The bacteria have been making these formations for billions of years, according to the U.S. National Park Service.
Fascinatingly, harmful, heat-trapping carbon dioxide is bound in a stromatolite during its creation, safely keeping it from warming our planet. That's why experts at Germany's Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft research organization think it could revolutionize the construction sector as a safe bio-concrete, following the natural process that already works so well, according to a press release.
It starts by adding the right ingredients to a nutrient-rich solution, where it meets cyanobacteria. The bacteria multiply with help from photosynthesis.
"When aggregates and fillers such as sand, basalt, or renewable raw materials are added, rock-like solid structures are produced. Unlike traditional concrete production, this process does not emit any carbon dioxide, which is harmful to the environment. Instead, the carbon dioxide is bound inside the material itself," the experts wrote.
Researchers widely agree that concrete production generates about 8% of the world's planet-warming carbon dioxide. NASA has linked the overheating to increased risk for severe weather, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities, which have a wide range of impacts on our lives.
The Fraunhofer team's solution is dubbed BioCarboBeton. In nature, the stromatolites grow into unique formations, such as the ancient fossils documented by the Park Service in the Navajo Sandstone.
The experts from Germany use molds to get their homemade version into the right shape. Spraying, foaming, and other techniques are also options to shape it as mineralization — the part where polluting gases are trapped in stone — finishes, per the press release.
"The developing solid structure is still porous during the process, so light enters the inside and drives the carbon dioxide fixation through limestone mineralization. We can stop the process by removing the light and moisture or changing the temperature," project initiator Matthias Ahlhelm said in the lab report. At that point, the bacteria simply expires, the summary adds.
Experts often mimic nature as part of breakthroughs. At Cambridge, photosynthesis is the key process in the development of an artificial leaf that produces fresh water and hydrogen. Elsewhere in England, scientists at Newcastle University are using fungal networks to make a building material they hope can reduce reliance on concrete.
It may be a while until these innovations are part of products at Home Depot. But you can achieve energy savings now with some simple hacks.
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In Fraunhofer, the team is working to turn its nature-based process into bricks and other building materials, per the report.
Experts are studying the material's strength and considering how best to capture carbon for the process. The goal is to scale it to be a cost-effective building material that can be made in large amounts.
"Our method shows the huge potential that can be unlocked through biologizing technology. Overall, our BioCarboBeton project is an opportunity for a big step toward a circular economy in the construction industry and beyond," Ahlhelm and research lead Ulla König concluded in the lab report.
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