Sporosarcina pasteurii
Sporosarcina pasteurii formerly known as Bacillus pasteurii from older taxonomies, is a bacterium with the ability to precipitate calcite and solidify sand given a calcium source and urea, through the process of microbiologically induced calcite precipitation or biological cementation.[1] S. pasteurii has been proposed to be used as an ecologically sound biological construction material.
Sporosarcina pasteurii | |
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Domain: | Bacteria |
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Species: | Sporosarcina pasteurii Bergey 2004 |
Possible applications
Architecture student Magnus Larsson won the 2008 Holcim Award "Next Generation" first prize for region Africa Middle East for his project "Dune anti-desertification architecture, Sokoto, Nigeria" and his design of a habitable wall.[2] Larssons also presented the proposal at TED.[3]
Ginger Krieg Dosier's unique biotechnology start-up company, bioMason, in Raleigh, NC has developed a method of growing bricks from Sporosarcina pasteurii and naturally abundant materials. In 2013 this company won the Cradle to Cradle Innovation Challenge (which included a prize of $125,000) and the Dutch Postcode Lottery Green Challenge (which included a prize of 500,000 euros).[4]
Another potential application is to solidify liquefiable soils in areas prone to earthquakes.
See also
- Great Green Wall
References
- Chiung-Wen Chou, Eric Seagren, Ahmet Aydilek, Timothy Maugel. "Bacterially-Induced Calcite Precipitation via Ureolysis", American Society for Microbiology 11 November 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- Holcim Awards 2008 Africa Middle East "Next Generation" 1st prize: Dune anti-desertification architecture, Sokoto, Nigeria, Holcim awards. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- Magnus Larsson: Dune architect, TED.com. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- bioMason @Green Challenge
External links
- Magnus Larsson: Turning dunes into architecture - Larsson's talk at TED.
- Type strain of Sporosarcina pasteurii at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase