Summary reader response draft 1

The article “Scientists create living concrete from bacteria and sand”(2020) introduces the usage of bacteria in concrete mixes to make concrete that is able to take in CO2.

Cement production contributes 8% of the world's carbon emissions. With how much we use cement in our construction projects and developing nations also using more concrete to build their nation, the search for greener alternatives to cement is key to sustainability. One alternative that could change our construction is the use of bacteria in cement to create "living concrete".

Corless explained "The team used a 3D sand–hydrogel scaffold that they inoculated with Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 (Synechococcus) — a photosynthetic cyanobacterium that converts CO2 to sugars during photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria are well known to survive extreme environmental conditions, including high and low temperature, salinity, and humidity, making them ideal candidates for living materials."


The bricks made with the mixture are able to be replicated by using a parent “brick”. By breaking a brick and extending the halves to a brick shape with extra sand and hydrogel scaffolding. The bricks will still be able to perform the same biological functions as the parent brick. This could change the way we re use and create construction materials. Rather than dispose of the materials during demolition, we could instead grow back the bricks to be used in another construction project.


In my opinion, I feel that living concrete is a viable alternative material in construction. For better understanding, I will discuss the benefits and shortcomings of "living concrete".


The bacteria in the cement use photosynthesis to produce calcium carbonate, a compound used in cement. The bacteria in the cement is able to stay alive after the mixture has hardened which allows the brick to partially self-replicate. This could help in areas that do not have enough resources to produce normal cement as the bacteria only needs nutrients and photosynthesis to replicate, allowing them to grow construction materials.


The production of living concrete is also environmentally friendly as unlike normal concrete, it takes in CO2 rather than produce it. Even after being used for construction, the bacteria in the concrete will still be able to perform photosynthesis which can help to reduce the greenhouse gasses. If living concrete is used for some of the projects that normal cement is used for today, it can help to cut down cement production's greenhouse gas emissions.


However, to sustain the bacteria in the brick, there is a tradeoff of the cement’s strength. This is due to the bacteria needing a humid environment to function while the mixture is strongest when it is dry. The living concrete is able to resist fractures more than the standard concrete but in strength, it performs like low-strength cement. Also due to the concrete's need for a humid environment to perform its biological functions, it would not be suitable for arid environments as it would be too dry for the bacteria to function.


In future, it could be possible to mix more types of bacteria that could perform different functions into the mixture to give the living concrete more functions like absorbing toxins or glowing at night. This makes the future of living concrete bright as it does not have to compete with regular concrete in construction, but provide an alternative material that could be used for smaller projects.


Reference

Corless, V. (2020, January 20). Scientists create living concrete from bacteria and sand. Advanced Science News. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/scientists-create-living-concrete-from-bacteria-and-sand/

Bushwick, S. (2020, January 15). Bacteria-filled bricks build themselves. Scientific American. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bacteria-filled-bricks-build-themselves/

Scientists create living concrete using bacteria. The Economic Times. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/productline/building-materials/scientists-create-living-concrete-using-bacteria/articleshow/73299528.cms?from=mdr

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