Risk assessment of mold growth in hemp concrete

Author(s): Dmytro Kosiachevskyi, Kamilia Abahri, Mohend Chaouche, Evelyne Prat, Anne Daubresse, Cécile Bousquet
Paper category: Proceedings
Book title: SynerCrete’18: Interdisciplinary Approaches for Cement-based Materials and Structural Concrete: Synergizing Expertise and Bridging Scales of Space and Time Vol. 1 & 2
Editor(s): Miguel Azenha, Dirk Schlicke, Farid Benboudjema, Agnieszka Jędrzejewska
ISBN: 978-2-35158-202-2
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-203-9
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2018
Pages: 547-552
Total Pages: 6
Language : English

Abstract: The use of the hemp concrete in the construction sector is interesting due to its hygro-thermal performances, economic and environmental benefits. Nevertheless, these performances can be affected as the hemp aggregate is a perfect substrate for a fungi proliferation. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the risk of mold contamination of the hemp concrete. The main objective is, first, to determine the risks of mold growth in the hemp concrete for durability, and, second, to verify the interconnection between the contamination by the mold of the hemp shiv and of the hemp concrete. Experimentally, a mold identification procedure was used for both samples of hemp shiv and hemp concrete, after being cultured in a Sabouraud culture medium at different conditions in desiccators. In addition, Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM) observations have been conducted on different contaminated samples to investigate the material degradation and the interaction between the hemp fibers and the concrete. The obtained results have revealed that the fungi from the Aspergillus family are the most common mushrooms present in the material. Their impact on human health has been presented in the paper.

Online publication : 2018
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros) : 0.00