The University of Stuttgart is leading groundbreaking research that could transform the future of building materials. His team has developed a concrete based on human urine, a breakthrough that could drastically reduce the environmental impact of cement. environmental impact of traditional impact of traditional cement.
Currently, cement cement production currently generates large greenhouse gas emissions and consumes significant amounts of energy. To mitigate this issue, the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) is exploring biomineralization as a method to create an environmentally friendly concrete with characteristics similar to sandstone.
Urine-based concrete in structural materials
The technique consists of mixing bacteria with sand and rinsing it with calcium-enriched urine. This causes the formation of calcium carbonate crystals that solidify the mixture. Bioconcrete has already shown outstanding performance in laboratory tests.
Using the urea technique, the researchers achieved a compressive strength of more than 50 MPa. With human urine, the result achieved was 5 MPa, due to the loss of bacterial activity during the process. Even so, it is expected to reach a range of 30 to 40 MPa, sufficient for structures of up to three floors.
The results of this research were published in the journal npj Materials Sustainabilityof the Nature group, which confirms its relevance in the scientific field.
SimBioZe boosts circular economy in the construction industry
The SimBioZe project seeks to integrate this technology into a circular value chain: from wastewater to bioconcrete. bioconcrete and from there to fertilizer. This phase is supported by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts, which has extended the research for three years.
A pilot plant is planned at Stuttgart airport to collect urine and manufacture test blocks. In addition, work will be carried out in parallel on the production of agricultural fertilizers from the same from the same waste.
Interdisciplinary collaboration to improve the process
In collaboration with other institutes, such as the Institute of Microbiology (IMB), the Institute for Sanitary Engineering (ISWA) and the Center for Organic Agriculture at the University of Hohenheim, the team is also analyzing how to optimize the bacterial activity and improve the stability of the material under adverse climatic conditions.
This approach represents a sustainable and technically feasible strategy that could mark a turning point for urban construction. urban constructionby harnessing an abundant and wasted human resource such as urine to create durable structures with a low ecological footprint.
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Source and photos: University of Stuttgart
