Bacterial Colonization and Stone Properties
Contact: Veerle Cnudde and Laurenz Schröer
- Bacteria can both deteriorate and enhance building stones.
- Colonization depends on the stone’s composition, texture, and environment.
- Bacteria can change stone properties through mineral precipitation and biofilm formation.
See also: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmater.2024.100024
BugControl: Protection of natural stone by bacteria
- The project aims to use microbial colonization to protect and conserve building stones.
- Advanced 4D imaging will help understand fluid-rock interactions and predict microbial impacts on rock properties.
- The research seeks to develop bio-conservation strategies to control weathering, benefiting cultural heritage preservation, environmental geology, and CO2 sequestration.
BugControl is a Vici project of NWO. More details about the project can be found here.