Capsules of limestone-producing bacteria are embedded in the concrete.
Concrete often develops micro-cracks during the construction process, explains Jonkers. These tiny cracks don’t immediately affect the building’s structural integrity, but they can lead to leakage problems. Leakage can eventually corrode the concrete’s steel reinforcements, which can ultimately cause a collapse.
Concrete production accounts for a massive 5 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, and global demand for concrete has doubled over the past decade, largely due to increasing urbanization. So any technology that makes concrete structures longer lasting has the potential not just to cut costs but to reduce our carbon footprint. The future of green building, it seems, may be gray.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/with-this-self-healing-concrete-buildings-repair-themselves-180955474/#cIHcAeCZqQUsYJba.99
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