Microbial activity on microstructures of concrete

Title: Microbial activity on microstructures of concrete
Author(s): B. Chattopadhyay, M. Biswas, S. Ghosh, S. Mandal
Paper category : conference
Book title: International Conference on Microstructure Related Durability of Cementitious Composites
Editor(s): W. Sun, K. van Breugel, C. Miao, G. Ye and H. Chen
Print-ISBN: 978-2-35158-065-3
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-084-4
Publisher: RILEM Publications
Publication year: 2008
Pages: 805 - 814
Total Pages: 10
Nb references: 19
Language: English

Abstract: Bioconcrete has now become an important area of research in the field of concrete technology to solve the problem of self-healing. Specific microbial communities, owing to their biomineralization property, produce or leach biomaterials or some other materials inside the concrete matrices and change its chemistry. This leads to a new dimension in concrete technology by the development of self-healing, eco friendly and more durable concrete material, known as bioconcrete. A novel thermophilic and anaerobic bacterium isolated from Bakreshwar hot springs shows that on addition of this bacterium to the cement-sand mortar or concrete, the overall behavior of the concrete could be improved substantially. A silicatein (silica leaching) like enzyme is released by the bacterium, which plays the vital role in the development of the bioconcrete material. This enzyme is thermostable and remained active at very high pH (pH 12.0). This can change the distributions as well as the mechanical properties of the components of cement paste within the matrices. Elaborate researches on this bacterium may help to find out the practical self-healing material in concrete near future.

Online publication: 2009-06-09
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00