Use of Bioceramics Enhanced with Effective Microorganisms as an Additive for Construction. Study of Physical and Mechanical Properties in Cement Mortars and Gypsum Plasters

Abstract

Biomaterials are materials that are used to manufacture devices that interact with biological systems. According to their chemical composition, they can be classified as biometals, biopolymers, bioceramics, biocomposites and semiconductors. Thus, in the present work, the application of bioceramics, enhanced with effective microorganisms, to construction materials (cement mortars and gypsum plasters) was studied in order to see the benefits that its incorporation contributes to construction materials. This first work constitutes the first phase of an experimental campaign in which the influence of bioceramics on the physical and mechanical properties (flexural and compressive strength) of the studied materials was analyzed. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) techniques were used. According to the results, a slight improvement in the mechanical properties of the new composites was observed. Besides, a more compact matrix was observed when bioceramics were used as an aggregate to the mixtures.

Circular, Local, Open: A Recipe for Sustainable Building Construction

“…In the context of the CE, emphasis is laid on the utilisation of industrial side streams and waste, recycled materials (e.g., plastics), and construction and demolition waste (CDW) [71][72][73][74][75][76]. Similarly, the use of agricultural residues (agro-waste) and other bio-based materials is popular [67,[77][78][79][80][81][82][83]. However, to further enhance the environmental performance and affordability of buildings, particularly for low-income households [22], emphasis is placed on developing strategies aimed at utilising locally available resources and at locally manufacturing building materials/components [22,31,52,79,[84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91].…”