Rapidly changing weather, increasing heat, danger of flood in the coastal areas… Now the world is seeing environmental challenges closely. The main reason for the big crisis arising out of environmental imbalance is the indiscriminate construction of cement-concrete. In such a situation, scientists have prepared a hydro gel made of bacteria as an alternative to cement.

This gel is better for the environment and much cheaper than cement. Its strength is such that every square centimeter can easily bear the load of 380 kg. Means the houses made of this gel will be stronger than the houses made of cement and brick.

Hydro gel cement as well as brick
Hydrogel houses made of bacteria will be less noisy than houses made of traditional cement. This is hydro gel cement as well as brick. Unlike cement, there is no pollution in making this gel. This is because instead of heat, it is produced by bacteria with the help of photosynthesis, i.e. light. By making hydrogel by this method, carbon is absorbed instead of emitted. Carbon gases are emitted from the heat used to break down lime in the process of making cement.

The entire process takes 8 days to prepare the bioconcrete blocks.

This is how hydro gel is prepared
Lauren Burnett of Prometheus, a bioconcrete or gel maker, describes the process as very simple. They say that to make it, bacteria are prepared in bioreactors tanks filled with water through light-emitting diodes. They are given inorganic nutrition. The tank is kept filled with bubbles, which give them carbon dioxide. Bacteria double every 4 to 6 hours. These are put in other tanks. Within an hour a hydro gel filled with crystals is ready.

Carbon emissions will be reduced by up to 90%
Lauren explains that after putting this gel in the mold, press it with the machine and keep it for a few seconds. After this, it takes 8 days to prepare the block. In the second method it used to take 28 days. The company hopes that a cement-like substance can also be prepared by mixing this gel with sand. This way, says Lauren, carbon emissions would be reduced by up to 90%. Its industrial production is expected to begin next year. Cement alone accounts for 8% of carbon emissions from human activities. 800 crore people of the world need a clean environment along with a home.

Lauren Burnett of Prometheus, the maker of Hydro Gel.

Steel requirement will be reduced by 70%
According to another research, the ductility of bamboo is 28 thousand pounds per square inch, much more than steel. Because of this, many researches are going on on the use of bamboo instead of steel in the construction of buildings. It can be used in place of bars in the columns, beams, walls, ceilings and stairs of buildings. This will reduce steel usage by 70%. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is conducting research on increasing the potential of bamboo for use in buildings.