Muck

There is a problem in the Indian River Lagoon, a substance called “Muck” has been settling on the bottom of the river.  This Muck comes from the runoff of lawn fertilizers, grass clippings, sewage, and other pollutants.  Over time, this Muck accumulates at the bottom of rivers and lakes and suffocates plant and animal life.  An effort is underway to dredge this Muck out of the Lagoon to help the ecosystem recover, but the problem is that there is so much Muck… we are running out of places to put it!

“Muck-rete”

To help dispose of this Muck, I have created a new type of concrete that I call “Muck-rete”. Muck-rete is essentially concrete with an added aggregate of Muck. Through the incorporation of Muck into concrete, we can get rid of massive amounts of Muck.

Creating Muck-rete

The process of creating Muck-rete is similar to creating regular concrete – with some specific steps necessary to maximize the Muck-rete strength and durability.

1) Mixing in Muck as with other concrete aggregates.

2) Adjusting concrete consistency with the use of a slump cone

3) Preventing plastic shrinkage during initial curing.

4) Immersion curing

5) Fiber reinforcement