Cement manufacturing and repair could be significantly improved by using biocement-producing bacteria, but growing the microbes at construction sites remains a challenge. Now, researchers report a freeze-drying approach in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that preserves the bacteria, potentially allowing construction workers to ultimately use powder out of a packet to quickly make tiles, repair oil wells or strengthen the ground for makeshift roads or camps.
These bacteria are soil bacteria, so they’re already in the environment. It seems like they produce biocement in small quantities and under specific conditions, so the real innovation here seems to be packaging them in a “just add water”-style container.
As for the worst that could happen? I suppose misuse of the packaged bacteria might cause the bacteria to leech into the soil and throw off the balance of the soil microbes in the area, which may or may not lead to poor soil quality