FunFact #4 - Did you know that bricks can be grown by bacteria, instead of baking them?
Every year, over 1,23 trillion (TRILLION) bricks are produced, emitting 800 million tons (TONS) of carbon pollutions. That is more than all the airplanes in the world combined emit every year. Wouldn't it be great if there was a green alternative for bricks?
Sandstone is made by bacteria that create a sort-off cement, or glue, that keeps the tiny sandgrains together. BioMason is a company that tried to create bricks using this principle. With many trials and errors they perfected the mixture of water, bacteria, nitrogen, calcium and food to feed the bacteria. The bacteria used are Sporosarcina pasteurii. "The calcium ions are attracted to the bacterial cell walls, creating a calcium carbonate shell which causes particles to stick to each other," Dosier (founder and CEO of bioMason) says.
But their applications go even further, Dosier says: "We can make bricks that glow in the dark, bricks that absorb pollution, bricks that change colour when wet,". Once the food supply is cut off, the bacteria die, the substance hardens by itself, and all thats left is a perfect solid brick.
They are now able to create bricks using this technique in just 2-5 days! There is no need for any fire nor fuel to harden them, giving it an extremely big advantage above traditional ways to make bricks . They already have two laboratories running in North Carolina and in the U.A.E. The laboratory in North Carolina is making 500 bricks a week, with a capacity of 1,500. I think inventions like these are/ will be so important, since the need for durable solutions around the world will be greater and greater in the future.
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Sources:
http://biomason.com/2015/10/how-to-grow-bricks-from-trillions-of-bacteria/
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/bricks-from-bugs
Previous FunFacts:
#1: https://steemit.com/nature/@awesomebiology/the-biggest-organism-in-the-world-is
#2: https://steemit.com/science/@awesomebiology/funfact-2-folding-a-piece-of-paper-untill-you-reach-the-moon
#3: https://steemit.com/science/@awesomebiology/funfact-3-what-is-the-heaviest-organism-in-the-world
I really like this kind of thinking.
People have used nature in building and construction long before our more modern 'no care for nature' methods came about.
Entire houses and boats built from wood and sealed using algae and other natural sealants that nature provides.
Temples built from wood still stand strong today 1000+ years later whilst castles and houses are falling down in less than half the time.
I know what you mean, and the construction nowadays is getting worse and worse. Some houses can't even stand for 50 years before they fall apart, only because its cheap. But if you build these houses 10 times, it is more expensive than building 1 solid house that lasts really long. People only think on the short term nowadays...