Literature review

Geopolymers are formed by the chemical reaction of aluminosilicates and alkali silicates to form
a Si–O–T (T:Si or Al) network. During geopolymer curing, heat is evolved after 4–8 h which
indicates that the geo-polymerization reaction has been taken place. Geopolymers are usually
prepared by activating the aluminosilicates with alkali solutions and sets hardened with time,
which may span over weeks for higher strengths. Some researchers have enhanced the geo-
polymerization reactions by microwave curing, which creates thermal agitations deep down to
the middle of the samples and creating less time to process the geopolymers. [1]

Biomineralization is a naturally occurring process in living organism. It is the chemical alteration

of an environment by microbial activity that results in the precipitation of minerals. Bacteria in
concrete will increase durability and reduce water absorption as a result no harmful agents will
penetrate into concrete so Thanh HaNguyen et. Al. used bacterial self-healing technology to
repair open micropores in concrete by calcium carbonate precipitation. They used yeast and
Bacillus Subtilis which is added to concrete for precipitation. [2]

Fungi are ubiquitous on the surface of the Earth, wherever oxygen is present; they are also able
to live in the absence of oxygen, however, this is not their main lifestyle. Soils are believed to be
their most characteristic habitat where their biomass can reach 75% of the soil microbial
biomass. So they are easily available. JingLuo et. al. used fungi as a self-healing agent to
promote calcium mineral precipitation to fill the cracks in concrete. [3]

The toluene-di-isocyanate (TDI) has low viscosity (3.2 mPa. s at 20 °C) and can react with water
or moisture in the concrete to form the reaction products for healing the cracks. WeiDu et. al.
prepared regular spherical microcapsules with toluene-di-isocyanate (TDI) as core and paraffin
as shell for self-healing of concrete using melt condensation method. [4]
Ceramics have large amount of porosity so S.S. Lucas et. al. used expanded clay in which
bacteria was filled by aggregate replacement method. [5]

Geopolymers foamed concrete provide thermal insulation properties and improves energy
efficiency so Ehsan Ul Haq et. al. used Natural soil, sodium silicate and hydrogen peroxide along
with water to make foams that are used for insulation purposes in building. [6]

VassilikiChalkia et. al. for the first time prepared yttria stabilized zirconia spherical beads of
uniform mm size diameter and hierarchical porosity by a simple one pot method utilizing phase
inversion and templating synthesis. [7] While Christian J. EspinozaSantosa et. al. made alumina
beads by using vibration method to study the study of stress wave propagation in granular media.
[8]
In this study there is production of beads from sodium silicate and clay by treating it at
microwave temperature of around 2000C and ceramic forms by the addition of hydrogen
peroxide. From this beads can be made which have porosity. These pores filled with bacteria.
These beads will be used with concrete. If any crack formed in concrete, beads crack and
bacteria will form sodium silicate and fill these cracks it then act as self-healing concrete. Beads
can also be used for agricultural purposes along with building and construction by checking the
water absorbent/retention ability of bacteria. On the other hand, ceramic forms used for thermal
insulation in housing.

Reference:
1. Ehsan ul Haq et. al. , October 2013 “synthesis and characteristics of fly ash and bottom ash
based geopolymers” , department of engineering for innovation, University of salento, Lecce
73100, italy

2. Thanh HaNguyenElhemGhorbelHanaaFaresAnneliseCousture

3. JingLuoaXiaoboChenbJadaCrumpcHuiZhoubDavid
G.DaviesdGuangwenZhoubcNingZhangaeCongruiJinbc

4. WeiDuJianyingYuYiGuYingLiXiaobinHanQuantaoLiu
5. S.S.LucasaC.MoxhamaE.TzivilogloubH.Jonkersb

6. Syed Farrukh Alam Zaidi et. al. , 2017 “Synthesis and characterization of natural soil based
inorganic polymer foam for thermal insulation” , Department of metallurgical and material
engineering, UET, Lahore, pp 994-1000, Vol. 157

7. VassilikiChalkiaEleniMarathonitiVassilis N.Stathopoulos
8. Christian J. EspinozaSantosaArif Z.NelsonbElenaMendozacRandy H.EwoldtbWaltraud
M.Krivena