|
contents | business | |||||||||
| Züblin testing the new ground engineering sealing method "BioSealing"  The "BioSealing" Joint Industry Project (JIP) has been officially launched on 9 September 2013. Züblin Spezialtiefbau Österreich, a subsidiary of the listed European construction group Strabag SE, is part of the joint project. In total nine companies will invest € 400,000 to further investigate the principle of operation of bacteria for the sealing of underground leaks.BioSealing is the sustainable and cheap alternative for sealing underground leaks in, for example, tunnels, building pits and car parks, but also for treatment of seepage through dikes and dams. In addition to traditional methods for sealing leaks on-site, such as grout or chemical injections, BioSealing offers a method less expensive and far less burdensome for the environment. BioSealing in practice BioSealing was developed by Deltares and Volker Staal Funderingen. The technology involves injecting certain nutrients close to a suspected underground leak to stimulate the growth of soil bacteria, resulting in a major reduction in the permeability of the soil and gradually sealing off the leak. Research BioSealing has already been used in practice on several projects, for example to seal a leak in the North/South metro line in Amsterdam, and at a dam in the Danube in Austria – a project which was carried out by Züblin Spezialtiefbau. The effectiveness of the concept has been proven. But there are still some unanswered questions which will be addressed by the BioSealing JIP, e.g. the assessment of the durability of BioSealing and the examination of possible improvements to the process. The research will be conducted at the Deltares Environmental Laboratory in Utrecht, and involves a team of Austrian and Dutch researchers from ZFT and BioClear. New projects The companies involved in the JIP will also be launching new field projects so that the technology can be used more widely, making it possible to acquire field experience. Projects will be organised in the Czech Republic (by GEOtest) and in the Netherlands (by VSF). The basic materials required will be supplied by Sireg and Avebe. These projects will be extensively monitored by, for example, Texplor in order to validate the Deltares laboratory research. Participants Currently, the parties in the BioSealing JIP are: Sireg (Italy), Zucker Forschung Tulln (ZFT, Austria), Bioclear (Netherlands), Texplor (Benelux), Avebe (Netherlands), Züblin Spezialtiefbau (Austria), Volker Staal en Funderingen (VSF, Netherlands), GEOtest (Czech Republic) and Deltares (Netherlands). Other participants may join later. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Construction News :: home page |