Nanyang Technological College, Singapore researchers have discovered a brand new strategy to create cement from waste.
Creating renewable biocement totally out of waste materials
Cement is a binder, a substance utilized in building that hardens, units, and adheres to different supplies to bind them collectively. When sand and gravel are mixed with cement, concrete is produced. Cement is classed as hydraulic or non-hydraulic, with non-hydraulic cement not setting when water is current, whereas hydraulic cement wants a chemical response between dry supplies and water.
Cement is among the most generally used supplies on the planet. Cement consumption in the US was estimated to be 109 million metric tons in 2021.
Cement manufacturing has an influence on the setting at each degree of the method. Some examples embrace airborne pollution within the type of mud, fumes, noise, and vibration whereas operating tools and blasting at quarries, in addition to injury to the panorama attributable to quarrying.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological College, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found a way to supply biocement from waste, making the choice to conventional cement greener and extra sustainable.
Biocement is a type of renewable cement that makes use of micro organism to create a hardening response that binds soil right into a stable block.
The NTU scientists have now created biocement from two frequent waste supplies: industrial carbide sludge and urea (from mammalian urine).
They devised a way for forming a tough stable, or precipitate, from the interplay of urea with calcium ions in industrial carbide sludge. When this response happens in soil, the precipitate binds soil particles collectively and fills gaps between them, leading to a compact mass of soil. This produces a biocement block that’s robust, sturdy, and fewer permeable.
The analysis group, led by Professor Chu Jian, Chair of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, confirmed in a proof-of-concept analysis paper printed on February twenty second, 2022 within the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering that their biocement may doubtlessly turn out to be a sustainable and cost-effective methodology for soil enchancment, comparable to strengthening the bottom to be used in building or excavation, controlling seashore erosion, lowering mud or wind erosion within the desert, or constructing freshwater reservoirs on seashores or within the desert.
(from left to proper) Dr. Wu Shifan, Senior Analysis Fellow, Centre for City Options, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NTU, and Professor Chu Jian, Chair of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NTU holding up blocks of biocement comprised of urea and carbide sludge. Credit score: Nanyang Technological College, Singapore
It will also be used as biogrout to seal cracks in rock for seepage management and even to the touch up and restore monuments like rock carvings and statues.
“Biocement is a sustainable and renewable alternative to traditional cement and has great potential to be used for construction projects that require the ground to be treated,” mentioned Prof Chu, who can be the Director of NTU’s Centre for City Options. “Our research makes biocement even more sustainable by using two types of waste material as its raw materials. In the long run, it will not only make it cheaper to manufacture biocement, but also reduce the cost involved for waste disposal.”
The NTU scientists’ analysis helps the NTU 2025 strategic plan which goals to handle a few of humanity’s grand challenges, together with mitigating human influence on the setting via advancing analysis and growth in sustainability.
Urine, micro organism, and calcium: A easy recipe for biocement
The biocement-making course of requires much less power and generates fewer carbon emissions in comparison with conventional cement manufacturing strategies.
The NTU group’s biocement is created from two varieties of waste materials: industrial carbide sludge – the waste materials from the manufacturing of acetylene fuel, sourced from Singapore factories – and urea present in urine.
Firstly, the group treats carbide sludge with an acid to produce soluble calcium. Urea is then added to the soluble calcium to form a cementation solution. The team then adds a bacterial culture to this cementation solution. The bacteria from the culture then break down the urea in the solution to form carbonate ions.
These ions react with the soluble calcium ions in a process called microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP). This reaction forms calcium carbonate – a hard, solid material that is naturally found in chalk, limestone, and marble.
The test specimen of a Buddha hand was provided by Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China. Repair work using biocement was done at Chongqing University, China, by Dr. Yang Yang. The biocement solution is colorless, allowing restoration works to maintain the carving’s original color. Credit: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
When this reaction occurs in soil or sand, the resulting calcium carbonate generated bonds soil or sand particles together to increase their strength and fills the pores between them to reduce water seepage through the material. The same process can also be used on rock joints, which allows for the repair of rock carvings and statues.
The soil reinforced with biocement has an unconfined compression strength of up to 1.7 megapascals (MPa), which is higher than that of the same soil treated using an equivalent amount of cement.
This makes the team’s biocement suitable for use in soil improvement projects such as strengthening the ground or reducing water seepage for use in construction or excavation or controlling beach erosion along coastlines.
Paper first author Dr. Yang Yang, a former NTU Ph.D. student and research associate at the Centre for Urban Solutions who is currently a postdoctorate fellow at Chongqing University, China, said: “The calcium carbonate precipitation at various cementation levels strengthens the soil or sand by gradually filling out the pores among the particles. The biocement could also be used to seal cracks in soil or rock to reduce water seepage.”
A sustainable alternative to cement
Biocement production is greener and more sustainable than the methods used to produce traditional cement.
“One part of the cement-making process is the burning of raw materials at very high temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius to form clinkers – the binding agent for cement. This process produces a lot of carbon dioxide,” said Prof Chu. “However, our biocement is produced at room temperature without burning anything, and thus it is a greener, less energy demanding, and carbon-neutral process.”
Dr. Yang Yang said: “In Singapore, carbide sludge is seen as waste material. However, it is a good raw material for the production of biocement. By extracting calcium from carbide sludge, we make the production more sustainable as we do not need to use materials like limestone which has to be mined from a mountain.”
Prof Chu added: “Limestone is a finite resource – once it’s gone, it’s gone. The mining of limestone affects our natural environment and ecosystem too.”
The research team says that if biocement production could be scaled to the levels of traditional cement-making, the overall cost of its production compared to that of conventional cement would be lower, which would make biocement both greener and cheaper alternative to cement.
Restoring monuments and strengthening shorelines
Another advantage of the NTU team’s method in formulating biocement is that both the bacterial culture and cementation solution are colorless. When applied to soil, sand, or rock, their original color is preserved.
This makes it useful for restoring old rock monuments and artifacts. For example, Dr. Yang Yang has used the biocement to repair old Buddha monuments in China. The biocement can be used to seal gaps in cracked monuments and has been used to restore broken-off pieces, such as the fingers of a Buddha’s hands. As the solution is colorless, the monuments retain their original color, keeping the restoration work true to history.
In collaboration with relevant national agencies in Singapore, the team is currently trialing their new biocement at East Coast Park, where it is being used to strengthen the sand on the beach. By spraying the biocement solutions on top of the sand, a hard crust is formed, preventing sand from being washed out to sea.
The team is also exploring further large-scale applications of their biocement in Singapore, such as road repair by sealing cracks on roads, sealing gaps in underground tunnels to prevent water seepage, or even as cultivation grounds for coral reefs as carol larvae like to grow on calcium carbonate.
Reference: “Utilization of carbide sludge and urine for sustainable biocement production” by Yang Yang, Jian Chu, Liang Cheng, Hanlong Liu, 22 February 2022, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2022.107443
