Lactobacillus plantarum: Bacteria Based Self-

Healing Concrete for Cracks

Angelica Ancheta2, Jasten Rey D. Bunsocan2
2
College of Engineering Education, University of Mindanao
Matina, Davao City
[email protected]

[email protected]

Abstract— This study demonstrates the utilization of healing is also confirmed by SEM photographs and XRD
microorganisms-Lactobacillus plantarum for mending concrete analysis. [13]
as a plan for break control to upgrade the life of the solidIV. The starting point of the research was to find bacteria capable of
structure. In this paper, Microbiologically Induced Calcite surviving in an extreme alkaline environment because cement
Precipitation is used. It is the exertion of Lactobacillus plantarum and water have high pH value when mixed together.[1] Bacteria
alongside its nutrients which is the Amino Acid, Thioglycolate and belonging to genus Bacillus are usually used in self-healing
Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). The mixing proportion used is concrete, which includes pasteurizing, Bacillus sphaericus,
1:2:4:0.55 along with 30ml liquid form of Lactobacillus plantarum Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cohnii, Bacillus balodurans, and
with its respective nutrients. The size of the samples are 4 inches Bacillus pseudofirmus .[3] However, Lactobacillus plantarum
in diameter and 2 inches thick. The samples will be tested by which is under the class of Bacilli, is a widespread member of the
applying uniform pressure using Universal Testing Machine genus Lactobacillus, commonly found in many fermented food
(UTM) and observe if there are any changes with the cracks. products as well as anaerobic plant matter.[4] Based on the study
in Diversity and Mechanisms of Alkali Tolerance in Lactobacilli,
Index Terms: Microbiologically Induced Calcite Precipitation, it was stated that Lactobacillus Plantarum can withstand in a
Lactobacillus plantarum, Conventional concrete, Bacterial high-alkaline environment.[2]
concrete. V. Ankit Ghatiya,[5] The purpose of their research is to investigate
the nature of microorganism Bacillus Pseudofirmus for
enhancement of self-healing property and strength in concrete.
I. INTRODUCTION Cracks in concrete are integral and are one of the implicit
II. Self-healing concrete could solve the problem of concrete weaknesses of concrete. Water and other salts percolate through
structures deteriorating well before the end of their service life. these cracks, corrosion introduce, and thus reduces the life of
Concrete is still one of the main materials used in the construction concrete. Therefore, for enhance the mechanical properties of
industry, from the foundation of buildings to the structure of concrete structures cement is replaced by Bacillus Pseudofirmus.
bridges and underground parking lots. Traditional concrete has a For this purpose Bacillus Pseudofirmus is replaced by 0%, 2.5%,
flaw, it tends to crack when subjected to tension. Concrete will 5% by the weight of cement. Numerous tests were conducted like
continue to be the most important building material for compressive strength, flexural strength, split tensile strength and
infrastructure, but most concrete structures are prone to cracking. stress-strain curve at the different percentage of Bacillus
Tiny cracks on the surface of the concrete make the whole Pseudofirmus 2.5%, 5% for the time period of 7, 14, and 28 days
structure vulnerable because water seeps in to degrade the curing and compare with conventional concrete. Chintalapudi
concrete and corrode the steel reinforcement, greatly reducing the Karthik, Rama Mohan Rao. P, [6] To overcome costly repairs for
lifespan of a structure. Self-healing concrete is a product that will concrete cracks, self-healing techniques are adopted. Bio
biologically produce limestone to heal cracks that appear on the mineralization techniques give favourable results in sealing the
surface of concrete structures. [11] Specially selected types of the micro-cracks in concrete. The freshly formed micro-cracks can
bacteria genus Bacillus, along with a calcium-based nutrient be sealed up by continuous hydration process in concrete. The
known as calcium lactate is added to the ingredients of the ureolytic bacteria i.e., bacillus pasteurii which can produce urea
concrete when it is being mixed. [12] These self-healing agents is added along with the healing agent to seal the freshly formed
can lie dormant within the concrete for up to 200 years.[1] Self- micro-cracks by CaCo3 precipitation. For the improvement of
healing concrete is classified into two parts: autonomous self- pore structure in concrete the bacterial concentrations were
healing concrete and autogenous self-healing concrete. [15] optimized for better results. A. Ghandimathi, N. Vigneswari, et
III. When the cracks appear in the concrete, the water seeps in the al, [7] in this study Bacillus Sphaericus that is abundant in soil
cracks. The spores of the bacteria germinate and starts feeding on has been used to induced CaCO3. It is therefore vital to
the calcium lactate consuming oxygen. The soluble calcium understand the fundamentals of microbial participation in crack
lactate is converted to insoluble limestone. The insoluble remediation. The impact of ECO- friendly micro-organism has
limestone starts to harden. Thus, filling the crack. [9] The other been made use of the self-healing process in the current project.
advantage of this process is, as the oxygen is consumed by the Amudhavalli N. K., Keerthana K. Ranjani A, [8] their paper
bacteria to convert calcium into limestone, it helps in the explains about the overview of bacterial concrete. Self-healing
prevention of corrosion of steel due to cracks. This improves the agents such as epoxy resins,bacteria, fibre are used to heal cracks
durability of steel reinforced concrete construction. [10] Self- in concrete. Among these, bacteria used in concrete are effective.

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 The state of art results in all projects show that material designed
as self-healing agents. H. Jonkers, V. Wiktor, et al, Bacteria
induced calcium carbonate precipitation based on metabolic
conversion of nutrients has been acknowledged for having
potentials in self-healing cement-based materials. The healing
efficiency was measured by water permeability test before and
after injection at several time intervals. The specimens injected
with bacteria based solution and cured in wet condition showed
higher healing efficiency compared to dry cured specimens.
The main purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness
of self-healing concrete using Lactobacillus Plantarum as
bacteria, time of healing and impact and to identify its weight.
This study will be perceived important because its success will
provide good quality concrete in the future. The outcome of the
study will also have an impact in the industry because it can bring
new discovery.
This study will be delimited to the use of Lactobacillus platarum
as bacteria for self-healing concrete and will be evaluated Cultured Lactobacillus Plantarum
consistent with the objectives of the study.

VI. MATERIALS AND METHODS

This section presents the methodological processes and
experiments that are performed to gather data for statistical analysis.

A. Materials and Resources

The ordinary concrete used in the test program are consist of
ordinary portland cement which is use as binding material, graded
fine aggregates that are below 4.75 mm, graded coarse aggregates
which are less than 16 mm, potable water, Lactobacillus
plantarum that are found in many fermented food products as
well as anaerobic plant matter or simply buy it in any pharmacy
called Lactopafi, and lastly the calcium lactate or the food of the
bacteria.

Lactobacillus plantarum under the microscope

B. Methods and Procedures

Bacteria Sub-Culturing
Microbiological culture made by exchanging a few cells from past
culture to crisp development medium. Sub-refined is utilized to drag
out the life and additionally grow the quantity of cells of
microorganisms in a culture. The ingredients are Lactobacillus
plantarum, Amino Acid, Thioglycolate broth, and Calcium Carbonate.
These are the nutrients needed for the bacteria to survive and it also
serves as its food or nutrient. The researchers used autoclave machine,
Liquid Lactobacillus Plantarum test tubes, and inoculating wire.

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 REFERENCES

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on Self –Healing Concrete
The researchers opted to use the concrete mixture 1:2:4:0.55. 6. Amudhavalli N. K., Keerthana K., Ranjani A (2015), Experimental
Which is 1 cement bag, 2 bags of sand and 4 bags of course aggregates Study on Bacterial Concrete, IJSEAS,Volume-1
and 0.55 for the water cement ratio. 7. (2019) The Constructor – Civil Engineering Home website.
1. Mix the cement, sand and coarse aggregate manually on a [Online] https://theconstructor.org/concrete/bacterial-concrete-self-
platform. healing-concrete/13751/
2. Add water and mix until the desired mixture was attained. 8. (2018) Azuko Technical Institute Engineering Services website
3. Add the 30ml Lactobacillus plantarum along with its [Online] https://www.azukotech.com/single-post/2018/10/29/Self-
respective nutrients.
Healing-Concrete/
4. Make 2 samples each. 9. (2013) The Masterbuilder website [Online]
5. Place in the mold. https://www.masterbuilder.co.in/self-healing-concrete/
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and 0.55 for the water cement ratio. Bacteria-based Repair Solution for Porous Network Concrete
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7. Add water and mix until the desired mixture was attained. The International Journal of Engineering and Science (IJES),Volume
8. Place it in the mold. 8

After placing it in the mold, both bacterial concrete and

conventional concrete are cured for 28 days.

Sample Size