Artificial substrates for coral settlement through Additive Manufacturing:
Integration of pozzolanic and waste materials for mortar development.
Ilse Valenzuela Matus, Jorge Lino Alves, Joaquim Góis, Paulo Vaz-Pires
INTRODUCTION
Coral recruitment tiles are widely used in ecological studies as a simple and
effective way to assess the recruitment and growth of sessile benthic
communities [1]. Chemical composition, morphological complexity,
positioning, size, attachment method, placement within the reef, and duration
of deployment can all influence the community’s recruitment [2]. Due to the
increasing availability of materials, mortar formulations were developed
integrating cement, pozzolanic and waste materials to reduce pH seawater
changes, promote the circular economy and fabricate artificial substrates
through Additive Manufacturing and silicone moulds.
OBJECTIVES
1. Analyse the effect of different materials on pH variation of seawater through
periodic measurement.
2. Select and integrate materials: (i) waste materials (non-toxic for marine
environments): limestone, mussel shell, and dolomite sand; (ii) pozzolanic
materials: fly ash, silica fume, brick dust, metakolin and ash husk rice; and (iii)
cement variations: CEM I, CEM II (white), CEM II (grey), CEM IV and weber 3D
160-1 cement to develop mortar formulations with the proper granulometry and
percentages.
3. Develop substrates that promote coral fragment settlement without epoxy glue
application (common practise in coral propagation) through the design of the
shape and texture that allow printability and the manufacture of the silicone
mould.
4. Monitor periodically the settlement, growth, and expansion of coral fragments
on each artificial substrate, to analyse colonisation preferences, the importance
of shape complexity and the duration to cover the entire surface.
A B
C D
Figure 1. pH measurement of seawater (100 ml) with four different materials over 49 days.
A B
Figure 2. 3D model development for 3D printing. [A] small substrate
for pH measurement variation; and [B] larger substrate for coral
fragmentation
Figure 4. Paramunicea grayi (portuguese species)
[3]. Sexual reproduction test
Figure 5. Montipora Danae (tropical species) [4].
Figure 6. Coral larvae attraction by the Figure 7. Detail view of coral
substrates when sexual reproduction larvae settlement.
occurred.
DAY 1
MONTIPORA DANAE MORTAR DENOMINATION
Figure 9. Substrates implementation in the aquarium and placement of Montipora Danae coral species.
DAY 9 DAY 68
Figure 10. Coral growth and expansion record on day 9. Figure 11. Coral growth and expansion record on day 68.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the pH variation test, previous experimental study has shown that a greater
volume of seawater stabilises pH values over time, proving the phenomenon that
happens at sea in large volumes of seawater. From all formulations tested in 100 ml
of seawater, data has shown that mussel shell presented the lowest pH values in all
composition variations. The cement used for 3D printing through extrusion (Weber
3D 160-1) recorded the highest value (11.46 pH), which may be a concern for
artificial reef manufacturing. The four branches design of the artificial substrate
demonstrated effectiveness in fixing the coral fragment without the use of epoxy
glue. For the sexual reproduction test, the substrates were used to analyse the
behaviour and preference of coral larvae of the Paramunicea grayi species,
demonstrating a rapid attraction and settlement in micropore zones (Figures 6 and
7). However, larval mortality occurred in the following days due to the pH high
concentrations in the micropores.
CONCLUSION
Pozzonalic materials showed a decrease in pH variation over time. Coral settlement
by fragmentation did not present a mortality or adaptation issue in the mortar
developed, but in sexual reproduction tests, high concentrations of material
deposited in micropores in small volumes of water may cause mortality in coral
larvae. The results are promising for manufacturing larger-scale structures where
mineral and organic waste nutrients are potentially beneficial for coral settlement
and growth.
REFERENCES
[1] Kennedy, E.V., Ordonez, A., Lewis, B.E., Diaz-Pulido, G., 2017. Comparison of
recruitment tile materials for monitoring coralline algae responses to a changing climate.
Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 569, 129–144. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12076
[2]Leonard, C., Hédouin, L., Lacorne, M.C., Dalle, J., Lapinski, M., Blanc, P., Nugues, M.M.,
Figure 3. Silicone mould process.
2022. Performance of innovative materials as recruitment substrates for coral restoration.
Restor. Ecol. 30, e13625. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13625
[3] Guerreiro Coelho, M.A., Ledoux, J.-B., Boavida, J., Paulo, D., Gómez-Gras, D.,
Bensoussan, N., López-Sendino, P., Cerrano, C., Kipson, S., Bakran-Petricioli, T., Garrabou,
J., Serrao, E., Pearson, G., 2022. Complete mitochondrial genome of the branching octocoral
Paramuricea grayi (Johnson, 1861), phylogenetic relationships and divergence analysis.
Mitochondrial DNA Part B 7, 1985–1988.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2022.2143246
[4] Fragário do Norte, 2005. https://fragariodonorte.pt (accessed 07 Jun 2023)
Asexual reproduction test ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Work supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Reference
identification number 2021.06092.BD in Portugal, through the doctoral program
in Marine Science and Management of the University of Porto. The research
progress is presented on the website, www.reefdesign.pt.
Special thanks to Fragário do Norte for providing the equipment and coral species
for the experimental study.
Figure 8. High concentrations of
sediments in the substrates are
located in micropore zones.