Dr Oluwafemi Adebayo Oyewole, is an associate professor from the Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. In this interview with the Daily Trust, he reveals breakthroughs in research carried out from micro-organisms which strengthen concrete production for building and construction of bridges, among others
Tell us more about the research you undertook. What's its import to the construction sector?
In Nigeria today, there is the problem of building collapse; and not just building collapse, we also have structures, pavements and bridges collapsing. These do not only lead to economic losses but also loss of lives. Imagine people investing so much in building skyscrapers, and they now see them go down the drain all because of structural damage. Against that backdrop, my research group feels there is something we can do.
In developed countries, what has been used to strengthen concretes include fiber or live organisms, but we feel it is preferred to use microbial products, partly because of the fear of using live organisms. As we know, concrete is an important material meant for buildings, civil engineering and general construction in modern society.
I and my colleagues - Evans Chidi Egwim, Taye Elisha Adejumo, Emmanuel Oche Agbese, Japhet Gaius Yakubu, Aisha Hussaina, Fatima Baba and Theresa Nguer Gbayan - six years ago successfully developed and tested this microbial product and discovered its capacity to strengthen concrete by way of biocalcification, and stabilizing clay in road construction.
How did you go about it and what is exactly is the result?
We screened so many microbial isolates from different environmental sources; we extracted the components in those organisms, then we got the best component within the extracts, and we used that extract to calcify concrete. The outcome of the result was massive; we had more than 80% increase in strength above the conventional standards when subjected to various engineering tests.
Consequently, what the microbial product does is that it creates calcium carbonate deposits, which percolate into the pores within the cement or the concrete creating a stronger mesh that now increases the compressive strength of concrete structures and clay in various constructions.
What are the advantages?
The microbial product is easy to produce. What you need to do is just to get water and basic microbial growth nutrients, then introduce the organism and leave overnight, spin and filter, then it's ready, I don't have to do anything special than that.
Secondly, you don't have to import it, it's just within reach and the isolate is in our laboratory. So, it will help the country to conserve Forex.
Also, this is a bio-product and most bio-products are simple to use and highly sustainable. Besides, it is non-toxic, therefore, safe to use. It also improves quality and the lifespan of cement, mortar, clay and concrete and of course increases their strength while reducing the quantity of cement used thereby reducing the overall cost of production.
How does it work?
The product of the microorganism is applied to any concrete, mortar, clay, brick or building work as desired. This product helps to strengthen the cement, concrete and clay.
I think it's something that we should come together as a country and encourage its wide applications in building construction, bridge construction, and clay stabilization during road construction.
How do you think this research will impact our economy?
Firstly, it will solve the problem of cracks in buildings; building collapse, bridge collapse, and the cost of production of any of these structures will reduce drastically while improving the strength. It will also help in improving the economy by creating job opportunities for people, because what you need is maybe a small place where you can be producing the microbial product instead of importing additives from India or China.
I am also using the avenue to call on governmental organisations, especially the Nigeria Building, Road Research Institute to come and get our Zymocretes and test it themselves so that they can believe it. I assure you it will give amazing results in any of the applications, including building constructions, road constructions, bridge constructions and anything of the sort.
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Zymocretes is just a term that we use so that it will be easier for us to refer to it; it is this same compound that we've obtained from a strain of bacterium that is able to calcify concrete and stabilize clay during road construction.
What is the plan for the future?
The plan is to revolutionize the construction sector with this discovery, which we arrived at using a microorganism. Whether it is concrete or road work, and I am glad that recently the minister of Works is trying to introduce concrete for road construction. Therefore, this can be so handy and we hope the government will consider the use of our locally developed microbial product to improve the quality of our roads.
However, what we need is partnership with industries, corporate organisations and government agencies which can upscale it for field application. Since they have their own quality control labs, they can have some quantity and go and test it themselves, once they have confirmed it, they can come back and say let's do this together.
We are open for partnerships because we believe we have found a credible breakthrough in activities relating to concrete work, building or bridge construction and road stabilization.
