BioConcrete - A Novel Bio-based Material Henk M.

Jonkers Department of Materials and Environment Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences Delft University of Technology

The motivation to implement sustainable practices in the Geo- and Civil Engineering sector is becoming more and more noticeable in recent years. Environmental pressure of engineering practices due to emission of waste products and depletion of natural resources such as raw materials and fossil fuels forces the sector to search for more sustainable alternatives. One partial solution is the utilization of industrial byproducts like silica fume, fly-ash and blast furnace slag as cement replacement in concrete mixtures. Ordinary Portland cement is quantitatively an important constituent of concrete mixtures but represents a typical non-sustainable product as for its production large amounts of clay and limestone need to be burned at a high temperature resulting in substantial carbon dioxide production what roughly amounts to 7% of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions. If available, industrial byproducts can replace a significant amount of cement. For example in the Netherlands cement blends are produced in which up to 80% of ordinary Portland cement is replaced by blast furnace slag what is produced as byproduct during manufacturing of steel. However, as on a global scale availability of suitable industrial byproducts is too limited to cover the production of sustainable cements, alternatives need to be developed. At the Delft University of Technology two scientific programs aiming to develop more durable and sustainable materials and techniques are currently running in parallel. One program initiated by the Delft centre for Materials (DCMat) focuses on the development of self-healing materials, i.e. materials featuring an inbuilt repair system what becomes activated upon damage formation, and what can manage autonomous repair of the material. The principle of material selfhealing was developed in analogy to self-healing capacity of living (biological) tissues and materials and thus represents an example of bio-mimicry. In the other research program named 'Bio-based Geo- and Civil Engineering' bio-mimicry is actually taken one step further in the sense that biological processes and materials are actually used to mitigate environmental pressure of geo- and civil-engineering practices. One example of a research project that fits both programs will be discussed here in more detail, i.e. the development of bacteria-based self-healing concrete. BioConcrete, or bacteria-based self-healing concrete, is produced by adding a two-component biochemical self-healing agent to the concrete mixture. The two individual components, i.e. bacterial spores and a bio-mineral precursor compound, are immobilized in expanded clay particles prior to addition to the concrete mixture. The expanded clay particles are relatively porous and can thus act as a reservoir system for the biochemical healing agent. The homogenously distributed particles will, after setting of the concrete mixture, release the encapsulated biochemical agent when hit and opened by a crack forming in the concrete matrix. Crack ingress water subsequently disperses the biochemical agent over the crack surface and activates the bacterial spores which

germinate to become metabolically active vegetative cells which convert the organic biomineral precursor compound to insoluble inorganic calcium-carbonate-based minerals. Copious production of bacteria-mediated bio-minerals subsequently results in clogging and crack closure (Figure 1) reducing material permeability and leakage. Concrete what is able to autonomously reduce matrix permeability substantially will be less susceptible to leakage and reinforcement corrosion what not only saves manual maintenance and repair considerably but also increases the service life of a construction. These phenomena will reduce the need of raw materials, energy consumption and emission of waste products particularly due to increased service life and reduced consumption of synthetic repair materials which are traditionally used for manual maintenance and repair of damaged concrete constructions. Self-healing BioConcrete thus represents a more durable and particularly moreover sustainable alternative to classical types of concrete.

Figure 1. Close up microphotograph of crack-healing in bacteria-based self-healing concrete. Micro-crack and cavity (arrow) visible in left picture partly running through embedded expanded clay particles (black circular aggregates) filled with bio-chemical healing agent, become completely filled with calcium-carbonate based inorganic minerals after immersion in water for several days (right picture). The inorganic minerals are precipitated due to bacterial metabolic conversion of organic bio-mineral precursor compounds.