Israeli researchers have developed a composite material with compressive strength approximately 10 times that of regular ice by binding plant-derived microcrystals and a specialized protein to ice. Its energy absorption capacity before failure reaches roughly 70 times that of ordinary ice, with assessments suggesting strength approaching that of concrete.<\/p>\n
BioPykrete, developed by a research team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, uses ice as its primary material while overcoming the key weakness of conventional ice\u2014its tendency to shatter suddenly. Under intense pressure, instead of cracking explosively as fractures spread instantaneously, the material deforms gradually while absorbing energy.<\/p>\n
The findings were published in the international journal Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.<\/p>\n
Binding Structure Engineered at the Molecular Level<\/p>\n
Ido Braslavsky, the biochemist who led the research, explained that the team went beyond the conventional approach of simply mixing fibers into ice, focusing instead on controlling inter-material bonding at the molecular level.<\/p>\n
“We wanted to move beyond simply mixing fibers into ice and control how different materials bind at the molecular level,” he said. “This molecular control changes not only the strength of the ice but also how it fractures. Instead of shattering suddenly, it deforms gradually while absorbing far more energy.”<\/p>\n
Two key additives are central to the innovation: cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)\u2014cellulose, the main structural component of plant cell walls, processed into nanocrystal form\u2014and CBM3a-AFPIII, a fusion protein combining two proteins that bind to ice and cellulose respectively.<\/p>\n
When CNC is mixed into water and frozen directionally, the CNC forms a fine three-dimensional network structure that traps ice crystals within it. The fusion protein acts like an adhesive, attaching to ice at one end and to CNC at the other. This binding structure blocks crack propagation pathways, preventing the ice from fracturing all at once.<\/p>\n
Compression tests showed that both compressive strength and energy absorption roughly doubled compared to ice-CNC mixtures without the fusion protein. The research team concluded that the fine-scale bonding created by the protein played a decisive role in the strength enhancement.<\/p>\n
A Modern Successor to a World War II Project<\/p>\n
This is not the first attempt to strengthen ice by mixing in plant-based materials. During World War II, Britain explored building an aircraft carrier from “Pykrete”\u2014a mixture of wood pulp and ice. The project never materialized, but the underlying principle of reinforcing ice with additives has continued to attract researcher interest.<\/p>\n
What sets this study apart is the size of the reinforcement material and the bonding mechanism. Instead of the large, irregular wood pulp fibers used in the original Pykrete, the team adopted nanometer-scale CNC to form a much denser reinforcement network between ice crystals. By adding a protein that provides molecular-level adhesion, they achieved a structure closer to chemical bonding than mere physical mixing.<\/p>\n
A Viable Alternative for Polar Construction?<\/p>\n
The research team identified construction projects in polar regions\u2014the Arctic and Antarctic\u2014as the primary application for BioPykrete. Transporting concrete and steel to polar regions entails enormous costs and logistical burdens. In contrast, this material, based on ice and plant-derived cellulose, can use locally available water as its main ingredient, dramatically reducing transportation requirements.<\/p>\n
There are also carbon-emission advantages. In their paper, the researchers noted that the construction industry, while foundational to the global economy, is a major source of environmental pollution causing significant carbon emissions and resource depletion. They argued that BioPykrete could serve as an eco-friendly alternative with a low carbon footprint and biodegradability.<\/p>\n
However, numerous challenges remain before real-world deployment. The study remains at a small-scale proof-of-concept (PoC) stage, using cylindrical specimens measuring 2 cm in diameter and 1 cm in height. The researchers stated in the paper that “durability, freeze-thaw cycling, creep (deformation under sustained load), and life-cycle testing are needed to establish infrastructure applicability.”<\/p>\n
Areas requiring validation include how the structure changes through repeated melting and refreezing cycles, whether it undergoes gradual deformation under long-term loading, and whether it delivers the expected environmental benefits in real-world conditions.<\/p>\n
The research team believes there is room to further enhance performance through fine-tuning of material combinations and processing. Adjusting the freezing rate and method, or improving the protein combinations that link ice and cellulose, could yield additional strength gains. They also plan to analyze crack propagation pathways in detail to verify that the reinforcement mechanisms they hypothesized actually function as intended. This approach is expected to open new possibilities beyond polar construction, extending to packaging materials and the broader construction industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israeli researchers have developed a composite material with compressive strength approximately 10 times that of regular ice by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":928872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,495802,495805,495804,495806,86218,495803,495807,105],"class_list":["post-928871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-biopykrete","tag-cbm3a-afpiii","tag-cellulose-nanocrystals","tag-colloids-and-surfaces-b-biointerfaces","tag-hebrew-university-of-jerusalem","tag-ido-braslavsky","tag-pykrete","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=928871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/928872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}