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Biorock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about artificial rock created by electrolysis in seawater. For waste water treatment equipment, see Wastewater treatment.
Biorock (also seacrete[1]) is a cement-like engineering material formed when a small electric current is passed between underwater metal electrodes placed in seawater causing dissolved minerals to accrete onto the cathode to form a thick layer of limestone. This 'accretion process' can be used to create building materials or to create artificial 'electrified reefs' for the benefit of corals and other sea-life. Discovered by Wolf Hilbertz in 1976, biorock was protected by patents and a trademark which have now expired.
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