ENZOCRETE
An efficient, optimised genetically
modified E. coli with the
power to reduce carbon emissions by millions of tonnes each year,
combined with modular systems for
autonomous,
cheap,
scalable,
rapid growth.
Australia is facing the impacts of our rapidly changing climate with
increasing frequency, summers are becoming hotter and drier while
winters are beset with torrential rain. Action is starting to be taken
on this issue, but it must continue to be our highest priority.
Except Australia is also facing another pressing concern, a
renting crisis and
housing shortage, leading to
increasing numbers of homeless and putting many more into uncertainty.
These issues cannot be morally disregarded, but acting on one
inhibits the other. Cement and concrete are the best choice for
large scale development that, unlike wood, can withstand the
Australian conditions but their production contributes up to
10% of
global carbon emissions each year.
When presented with the dilemma of choosing between providing
affordable housing and reducing our climate impact we drew on our
knowledge of synthetic biology to combine powerful MICP pathways
with ease of growth, allowing
Enzocrete to bypass
90% of the established processes
emissions.
Our automated apparatuses, developed to help us with our own testing,
have flourished into an
integrated BioFoundry process with
assays, bacterial proliferation and more. This system created from off
the shelf components broadens the potential applications of our
project to more than just industrial scale.
Throughout this wiki our story, setbacks and successes in Biology,
Engineering and Human Practises are displayed.
So from UNSW 2023 we hope you take as
much interest as we did, with:
ENZOCRETE
Throughout our project, we strove to learn and then apply the discipline of synthetic biology to our end goal of carbon reduction. By augmenting our efforts with automated systems, we desired to recreate the transdisciplinary nature of true scientific research. iGEM has allowed us to experience settings we thought not possible and helped expand our scientific skills and knowledge. Our team has enjoyed our shared experiences and benefited from iGEM over the course of our project.
Project Promotion Video
Project Presentation Video
