ARB 426-2 - BLDG. TECH.

5: ALTERNATIVE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS

Feasibility Study of the Bacteria

Based Self Healing Concrete as an
Alternative Building Material
GROUP 12
VANESSA KEITH V. DE VERA|SEAN BERNARD I. RODRIGUEZ|DENRY O. PENA
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 Concrete is the most widely used recyclable building material in the world. It is
strong, durable, locally available, and versatile. It is capable to resist the
compressive load to a limit but if the load applied on the concrete is more than
their limit of resisting load, it causes the strength reduction of concrete by
producing the cracks in concrete, these cracks lead to significant reduction in
concrete service life and high replacement costs.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 The major drawback of concrete is its low tensile strength and brittleness which
makes it susceptible and prone to forming micro-cracks that might induce to
macro-cracks. Traditionally, concrete material can be repaired through retrofitting
to prolong the serviceability of a concrete structure. However, the process of
retrofitting the concrete is very costly and time consuming. In addition, it is very
difficult to repair all the cracks, considering the exact crack location, depth, and
extent of the damage inside the concrete material.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 Therefore, a self-healing concrete is needed to repair the cracks in a concrete

structure. A promising technology developed by Hendrik Jonkers of Delft
Technical University in the Netherlands and commercialized by Basilisk
Concrete, uses bacteria. In their self-healing concrete, these bacteria produce
limestone if triggered by contact with water and air, and in doing so they repair
the crack.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 Bacteria based system involves the use of ureolytic bacteria of genus Bacillus to
produce Calcium Carbonate minerals. This study aims to ascertain the
compatibility of the said bacteria and Calcium Carbonate in reaction to concrete.
The different techniques used in treating and preventing concrete cracks and the
best potential solution for a Self-Healing Concrete.
GOALS, OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 The study aims to know how self-healing concrete eliminates ordinary concrete’s
long-term problem and how it reduces maintenance costs, service time, and
material loss

 To explain how self-healing concrete lessens the impact of cement production on

the environment.

 To explain how self-healing concrete reduces the rebuilding of structures and

diminishes the costly effort in the repeated filling of gaping cracks.
GOALS, OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 To investigate the development of an effective healing agent for sustainable

concrete that can stand future challenges and catastrophes.

 The study describes an effective way to make self-healing components to

concrete without affecting its mechanical properties and maintaining its strength
and density.
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

 This study focuses on the effectiveness of self-healing bacteria when incorporated

in concrete, specifically how it solves concrete problems such as cracks and
deterioration.

 Due to the fact that this study was conducted during the COVID-19 epidemic,
certain limitations existed. As a result, the data that will be discussed in the results
and discussion will be sourced from previous related literature.
 CHAPTER 3

MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

 Descriptive Research Design will be used to explain the data that will be
obtained. To obtain the findings of its aims, this study will use Qualitative
Research Design, notably Coding and Thematic Analysis, as well as Qualitative
Comparative Analysis. To achieve the objectives, the data acquired that contains
relevant information about Compatibility of Calcium Carbonate as an approach to
concrete cracks will be summarized, classified, evaluated, compared, and
contrasted in this study.
METHODOLOGY
 CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

RESULTS

THE COST OF PRODUCING SELF-HEALING CONCRETE

 The cost analysis demonstrated that the price of microbial concrete is 2.3 to 3.9 times
higher than the price of conventional concrete with lower quality. The high cost of
bacterial cultures used in developing the material is the reason why the initial costs are an
order of magnitude higher than for traditional concrete. Further research will be needed in
order to reduce the cost of culturing bacteria so that the material might have a lower initial
cost.
RESULTS

EFFECTS OF BIOMINERALIZATION TO THE PROPERTIES OF

CONCRETE

 Based on the data gathered (Tomal, 2020) the introduction of selected bacteria has a
favorable effect on several properties of the material. One such parameter is diffusion
kinetics caused by a change in the pore structure. It has a favorable effect on the
moisture transport of different ions that cause damage to building materials. An increase
in strength is also observed when bio-calcium carbonate is embedded in damaged
spaces and in the pores of the material. Numerous investigations into this matter are
being conducted by researchers and scientists. Different bacterial species, e.g., Bacillus
subtilis, Bacillus pseudofirmus, Bacillus pasteurii, Bacillus sphaericus, Escherichia coli,
Bacillus cohnii, Bacillus balodurans and cell concentrations wherein 5 of 13 are studied.
RESULTS

EFFECTS OF BACTERIA TO THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE

 Based on the researches gathered, the overall increase in strength was also a result of the
presence of an appropriate quantity of organic matter in the matrix derived from the
biomass of microorganisms. Durability was also tested by the authors of various
publications using changes in flexural or compressive strength. The process was further
aided with the help of water adsorption and chlorideions. The durability of a building made
of bacterial cement depends on the environment in which it is located.
RESULTS

FULL SCALE DEMONSTRATION OF BACTERIA BASED SELF-HEALING

CONCRETE

 Two full scale demonstration projects were executed by Mors & Jonkers (2019), the first one
is construction of wastewater purification tank consist of precast concrete elements. The tank,
consisting of prefab elements with dimensions of 7.00 x 2.50 x 0.15m and put into operation
in August 2016. Three out of the 15 applied prefab elements were cast with a dosage of 10 kg
healing agent per m3 concrete mix while the other 12 served as reference elements. After
being more than 3 years in operation no sign of cracking or other forms of degradation or
damage in both self‐healing and reference type of elements has been observed. Therefore,
although already fully functional for a 3‐years period, yet no conclusion can be drawn on
possible benefits of using self‐ healing concrete in for this specific application.
RESULTS

FULL SCALE DEMONSTRATION OF BACTERIA BASED SELF-HEALING

CONCRETE

 The second full scale self‐healing concrete demonstrator project involved an in situ cast
rectangular concrete water reservoir. Two walls of the tank (South and East facing) were
made of self‐healing concrete and the other two (North and West facing) of traditional
concrete. The tank was filled with water in the summer of the year 2018, and during filling
only minor non‐leaking hairline cracks were observed in the North facing wall (not
containing healing agent) but not in the other walls. To date, after being more than one
year in full service, no actively leaking cracks have been observed in all walls. As such this
demonstrator project has yet not been successful as the aim was to compare crack ‐sealing
efficiency of self‐healing versus traditional concrete walls.
DISCUSSION

 Many scientists are studying various compositions of bacteria in self-healing

concretes. Although concrete with a high self-healing potential is wanted, the
addition of healing agents such as bacteria and/or (organic) chemical compounds
to the paste may result in increase or decrease of strength properties. However,
such a loss in strength may be acceptable when this is compensated for by a
substantial increase in the materials self-healing capacity.
DISCUSSION

 The study show that the properties of the materials can be enhanced. The ability
to self-repair the material is based on the assumption that the repair material is
placed inside the concrete, during the production of the concrete before the
damage occur. The results of various research centers presented above show that
there is great potential in these materials. Every new or modified bacterial and
additive conformation leads to better and better results. Analyzing these results,
however, it seems that the use of full concrete with bacterial input is not
necessary and involves costs.
DISCUSSION

 Research is already underway on the use of bacterial concrete in repair mortar or

concrete spraying. Bacterial concrete has great opportunities to improve the
quality of building materials. At the moment, however, it is not used on an
industrial scale for various reasons. Most of these problems are currently being
investigated by scientists who are achieving promising results. The effects
resulting from the use of them (sealing of the structure) are well known.
Unfortunately, there is no research into the durability of such materials or the
possible effects of such a biological cementitious environment on potential
biological corrosion.
DISCUSSION

 Will the calcium carbonate formed protect the material and how will it affect the
deposition and growth of the spores of other microorganisms present in the air?
These materials, as such, are not harmful to human health because the bacteria
used in their production are ones such as Bacillus Sphaericus, Bacillus pasteurii,
Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus lexus. These bacterial species do not exert any
negative impacts on human health and display a higher ability to precipitate
calcite.
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND

RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION

 Incorporating bacteria into concrete is extremely advantageous since it increases

the concrete's properties in a way that is superior to those of ordinary concrete.
The calcium carbonate crystal, which is produced by bacteria, is used to heal and
plug the fractures in concrete. Many researchers have studied the self-healing
properties of concrete and have discovered that bacteria enhance the properties of
ordinary concrete
RECOMMENDATIONS

 This study shows that the use of self-healing concrete could lead to a great impact in the
building industry. From the withholding strength of the structure, sustainability, and the
cost; The cost of making bio-concrete, in addition to the concrete's longevity as a result of
the bio-based healing technique, is another challenge
 The cost of using microbial concrete in comparison to normal concrete is one of the key
reasons why it is not currently accessible on the market and not mass manufactured.
 To the future researchers, more study on microbes, nutrients, and their interactions, as well
as a reduction in associated expenses, is needed. As a consequence of techniques to boost
the effectiveness of bio self-healing while decreasing prices, contractors will undoubtedly
be urged to employ bio-concretes as the preferred material in the near future