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Integrating living, multiplying bacteria could increase efficiency听and sustainability of building material production and use

CU Boulder researchers have听developed a new approach to designing more sustainable buildings听with help from some of the tiniest contractors out there.

In a study听, Wil Srubar and his colleagues describe their strategy for using bacteria to develop building materials that live and multiply鈥攁nd might deliver a lower carbon footprint to boot.

鈥淲e already use biological materials in our buildings, like wood, but those materials are no longer alive,鈥� said Srubar, an assistant professor in the听Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering听(CEAE). 鈥淲e鈥檙e asking: Why can鈥檛 we keep them alive and have that biology do something beneficial, too?鈥�

Such structures could, one day, heal their own cracks, suck up dangerous toxins from the air or even glow on command.

鈥淭hough this technology is at its beginning, looking forward, living building materials听could be used to improve the efficiency and sustainability of building material production, and could allow materials to sense and interact with their environment," said study lead author Chelsea Heveran, a former postdoctoral research assistant at CU Boulder, now at Montana State University.听

Today's more corpse-like building materials, in contrast, can be costly and polluting to produce, Srubar said. In fact, making the cement and concrete needed for roads, bridges, skyscrapers and other structures generates nearly 6% of the world鈥檚 annual emissions of carbon dioxide.

Srubar鈥檚 solution: Hire some bacteria.听

In particular, he and his colleagues experimented with cyanobacteria belonging to the genus听Synechococcus. Under the right conditions, these green microbes absorb carbon dioxide gas to help them grow and make calcium carbonate鈥攖he main ingredient in limestone.

To begin the manufacturing process, the researchers inoculate colonies of cyanobacteria into a solution of sand and gelatin. With the right tweaks, the calcium carbonate churned out by the microbes mineralize the gelatin, which binds together the sand鈥攁nd, presto, a brick.听

They鈥檙e durable, too. In the new study, the team discovered that under a range of humidity conditions, they have about the same strength as the mortar used by contractors today.

鈥淵ou can step on it and it won鈥檛 break,鈥� Srubar said.

And these materials can reproduce. Chop one of these bricks in half, and each of half is capable of growing into a new brick.

鈥淲e know that bacteria grow at an exponential rate,鈥� Srubar said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 different than how we, say, 3D-print a block or cast a brick. If we can grow our materials biologically, then we can manufacture at an exponential scale.鈥�

He notes that there鈥檚 a lot of work to do before that happens. But the possibilities are big. Srubar imagines a future in which suppliers could mail out sacks filled with the desiccated ingredients for making living building materials. Just add water, and people on site could begin to grow and shape their own microbial homes.听

鈥淣ature has figured out how to do a lot of things in a clever and efficient way,鈥� Srubar said. 鈥淲e just need to pay more attention.鈥�