Fungal-Induced Biomineralisation for Concrete Repair

核设施包括大量混凝土资产，这些资产暴露在不同的环境条件下，导致混凝土降解的机制和速度不同。例如，外部混凝土建筑外立面可能暴露在冻融和高盐度下，而一些内部混凝土结构可能暴露在高温和高水平辐射下。该项目的重点是开发一种用于修复核设施上的混凝土的新技术。传统和既定的混凝土修复、处置和去污方法昂贵、耗时，并可能导致受污染的颗粒在大片区域扩散。生物矿物技术是：非破坏性(不需要挖掘)；耐用；并且可以显著抑制放射性核素的迁移。近年来，细菌诱导的混凝土修复矿化引起了人们的极大兴趣。该博士项目的总体目标是评估利用真菌诱导的生物矿化(FIB)处理和修复降解混凝土的可行性。基于真菌的策略可能比基于细菌的策略具有许多潜在的优势，包括：改善治疗的一致性，减少治疗周期，提高机械强度，以及降低与运输/培养微生物相关的成本。该博士学位的目标是：1.研究真菌诱导的不同生物矿化途径(例如碳酸钙、草酸钙和磷酸盐矿物的沉淀)。这些途径中最有希望的将被选择用于目标2和3的进一步研究。选择过程中的关键驱动因素将包括真菌生长速度、矿物沉淀所需的时间和可沉淀的生物矿物的总质量。研究真菌生长持续时间和处理策略对(I)产生的真菌网络和(Ii)产生的生物矿物质的空间分布的影响。3.研究真菌诱导生物矿化修复混凝土的水力学性能。实验将研究真菌生长时间和处理策略对渗透性和抗压强度和抗拉强度的影响。

Nuclear sites comprise huge volumes of concrete assets, which are exposed to differing environmental conditions resulting in variable mechanisms, and rates of, concrete degradation. For example, external concrete building facades may be exposed to freeze-thaw and high salinity, whereas some internal concrete structures may be exposed to high temperatures and high levels of radiation. This project is focused on developing a novel technology for repair of concrete on nuclear sites. Traditional and established methods for concrete repair, disposal and decontamination are expensive, time-consuming and can result in the spread of contaminated particulates over large areas. Biomineral technologies are: non-destructive (no excavation is required); durable; and can significantly inhibit radionuclide migration. In recent years there has been significant interest in bacterially-induced mineralisation for concrete repair. The overall aim of this PhD project is to assess the feasibility of deploying fungal-induced biomineralisation (FIB) for the treatment and repair of degraded concrete. Fungal-based strategies could potentially have a number of advantages over bacterial-based strategies including: improved uniformity of treatment, reduced number of treatment cycles, improved mechanical strength and reduced costs associated with transporting/cultivating microorganisms. The objectives of this PhD are to:1. Investigate different fungal-induced biomineralisation pathways (e.g. precipitation of calcium carbonates, calcium oxalates and phosphate minerals). The most promising of these pathways will be selected for further investigation in Objectives 2 and 3. Key drivers in the selection process will include the fungal growth rate, time required for mineral precipitation and the total mass of biomineral that can be precipitated.2. Investigate the influence of fungal growth duration and treatment strategy on the spatial distribution of (i) the fungal network created and (ii) the resulting biominerals precipitated. 3. Investigate the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of concrete repaired via fungal-induced biomineralization. Experiments will investigate the influence of fungal growth duration and treatment strategy on permeability and compressive and tensile strength.