Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
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Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
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Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#2Can it use desert sand rather than riverbed sand?
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#3Can it use desert sand rather than riverbed sand?
Not really, desert sand and riverbed sand have different characteristics with regards to smoothness and grain size, etc.. You really can just use desert sand.
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#4> The brick needs to be completely dried out to attain the maximum structural capacity (i.e., strength), but at the same time, drying stresses the bacteria and compromises its viability. To maintain structural function and ensure microbial survivability, the concept of optimum relative humidity and storage conditions is critical. Utilizing the humidity and temperature as physical switches, the researchers can control when the bacteria grow and when the material stays dormant to serve structural functions.
So it can't get wet.
> they use light from the sun to grow and proliferate with very little exogenous material needed for their growth
Do the bacteria just die after the initial nutrients run out?
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#5> The brick needs to be completely dried out to attain the maximum structural capacity (i.e., strength), but at the same time, drying stresses the bacteria and compromises its viability. To maintain structural function and ensure microbial survivability, the concept of optimum relative humidity and storage conditions is critical. Utilizing the humidity and temperature as physical switches, the researchers can control…
To both comments, not really.
It can get wet, but just not too wet. And it doesn't necessarily die when the initial nutrients run out as long as more naturally enter. The solution is to deal with sub-maximal strength and provide a slow nutrient drip(or possible occasional soaking with a nutrient slush).
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#6We already have slow-curing low-emissions concrete, which has existed for centuries. Fast setting is a core feature of modern (Portland) concrete, and any "replacement" which doesn't do that is not a replacement at all. Companies want to build their 40-story towers in 6 months, not 6 years.
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#7We already have slow-curing low-emissions concrete, which has existed for centuries. Fast setting is a core feature of modern (Portland) concrete, and any "replacement" which doesn't do that is not a replacement at all. Companies want to build their 40-story towers in 6 months, not 6 years.
Who gives a shit about companies? Make them bend the knee to global needs.
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#8that's great and all but it's the sand part that's making concrete expensive. The type of sand to use is becoming harder and harder to source
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#9We already have slow-curing low-emissions concrete, which has existed for centuries. Fast setting is a core feature of modern (Portland) concrete, and any "replacement" which doesn't do that is not a replacement at all. Companies want to build their 40-story towers in 6 months, not 6 years.
We use a lot of cement blocks these days for building foundations and pavers. I dunno how many private residences it takes to equal a mile of new highway or an office block, but it’s not nothing.
Re: Bacteria and sand engineered into living concrete
#10We already have slow-curing low-emissions concrete, which has existed for centuries. Fast setting is a core feature of modern (Portland) concrete, and any "replacement" which doesn't do that is not a replacement at all. Companies want to build their 40-story towers in 6 months, not 6 years.
I agree,
> Utilizing the humidity and temperature as physical switches
sounds worse than lime plaster