Here's a Living Concrete That Repairs Itself

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  • August 2, 2015 at 12:08 pm #27944
    bnw
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    MAY 15, 2015 @ 12:21 PM
    http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/a15576/concrete-heal-thyself/?mag=pop&click=c1_article_articles_yr_1
    Here’s a Living Concrete That Repairs Itself
    How bacteria can fix the cracks in your driveway

    A Dutch inventor has come up with an ingenious way for concrete to repair its own cracks: It’s alive.

    Okay, Henk Jonkers hasn’t created a new form of life. What he did find is a kind of bacteria that lies dormant until activated by water. Water is exactly what causes many concrete structures to crack further after they’ve suffered an initial abrasion—the water gets in, freezes, and expands. The idea is that the bacteria put a stop to that.

    The bacillus bacteria comes out of its spore hibernation when activated by water and thrives in the concrete environment. They’re stored in a small plastic bubble along with calcium lactate, which is mixed in with the concrete. When cracks form and water gets in, it melts the plastic shell, exposing the bacteria to the water. The microorganisms come out of dormancy and feed on the calcium lactate, producing limestone inside the concrete.

    It’s the kind of thing that could save vulnerable roads, bridges, staircases, and buildings. But it comes with a double-edged sword: it could mean a revival of brutalist architecture.

    Source: CNN

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