Evaluation of mycelium composite materials produced by five Patagonian fungal species (original) (raw)

Fungi in Mycelium-Based Composites: Usage and Recommendations

Materials

Mycelium-Based Composites (MBCs) are innovative engineering materials made from lignocellulosic by-products bonded with fungal mycelium. While some performance characteristics of MBCs are inferior to those of currently used engineering materials, these composites nevertheless prove to be superior in ecological aspects. Improving the properties of MBCs may be achieved using an adequate substrate type, fungus species, and manufacturing technology. This article presents scientifically verified guiding principles for choosing a fungus species to obtain the desired effect. This aim was realized based on analyses of scientific articles concerning MBCs, mycological literature, and patent documents. Based on these analyses, over 70 fungi species used to manufacture MBC have been identified and the most commonly used combinations of fungi species-substrate-manufacturing technology are presented. The main result of this review was to demonstrate the characteristics of the fungi considered opt...

Mechanical, physical and chemical characterisation of mycelium-based composites with different types of lignocellulosic substrates

The current physical goods economy produces materials by extracting finite valuable resources without taking their end of the life and environmental impact into account. Modernity leaves us with devasted landscapes of depleted resources, waste landfill, queries, oil platforms. At the time of the Anthropocene, the various effects the human role has on the constitution of the soils create an acceleration of material entropy. It is the terrestrial entanglement of fungal materials that we investigate in this paper by offering an alternative fabrication paradigm based on the growth of resources rather than on extraction. Unlike the latter, biologically augmented building materials can be grown by combining micro-organisms such as fungal mycelium with agricultural plant-based waste. In this study, we investigate the production process, the mechanical, hygrothermal and chemical properties of mycelium-based composites with different types of lignocellulosic reinforcement fibres combined wit...

Effect of the lignocellulose substrate type on mycelium growth and biocomposite formation by Ganoderma lucidum GA3P

Food Science and Applied Biotechnology

The lignocellulose agricultural wastes, one of the major environmental pollutants, represent an extremely rich resource with high nutritional value, which can be used in the production of value-added products. In the current study the effect of different lignocellulose substrates on the growth rate of Ganoderma lucidum GA3P and the formation of mycelium-based bio-composites was determined. The macromorphology and specific mycelial growth rate of the colonies on different media containing various lignocellulosic substrate were studied. The obtained composites were characterized regarding their density of the mycelial growth, apparent density and size. G. lucidum GA3P demonstrated high μmax values ranging from 0.267 d-1 to 0.558 d-1 and low K values indicating that all used media were suitable for cultivation, but when wheat bran was used, the formed mycelium-based bio-composites possessed the best characteristics with highest apparent density recorded (0.39 ± 0.005).

Amazing Fungi for Eco-Friendly Composite Materials: A Comprehensive Review

Journal of Fungi

The continually expanding use of plastic throughout our world, along with the considerable increase in agricultural productivity, has resulted in a worrying increase in global waste and related environmental problems. The reuse and replacement of plastic with biomaterials, as well as the recycling of agricultural waste, are key components of a strategy to reduce plastic waste. Agricultural waste is characterized as lignocellulosic materials that mainly consist of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Saprobe fungi are able to convert agricultural waste into nutrients for their own growth and to facilitate the creation of mycelium-based composites (MBC) through bio-fabrication processes. Remarkably, different fungal species, substrates, and pressing and drying methods have resulted in varying chemical, mechanical, physical, and biological properties of the resulting composites that ultimately vary the functional aspects of the finished MBC. Over the last two decades, several innovati...

Inherent species characteristic influence and growth performance assessment for mycelium composite applications

Advanced Materials Letters, 2018

Composite materials produced using mycelial growth attract commercial and academic interest due to their economic, environmentally sustainable and green manufacturing process. However, their manufacture via slow biological growth affects the larger scale production viability of these materials, which must compete with rapidly producible synthetic materials. Hyphal characteristics vary significantly by species, which is the most influential growth performance factor in conjunction with environmental conditions and chemical nutrition. This study assessed the effect of potential growth predictors such as hyphal type, pathogenicity, taxonomic and association based classification systems on hyphal extension rate and growth density for commonly used and non-traditional species. It provides a simple, low-cost process for screening species by growth performance prior to more application-dependent mechanical evaluation. This facilitates more efficient and accurate species selection for composite manufacturing applications. Trimitic and dimitic species containing skeletal hyphae exhibited higher hyphal extension rates than species containing generative-binding or purely generative hyphae but no other parameters investigated in this study were good predictors for growth performance with significant species-specific variation present instead. However, the methodology used to test growth performance did prove effective and could be used on a case by case basis for growth screening in mycelium composite applications.

Collection and Characterization of Wood Decay Fungal Strains for Developing Pure Mycelium Mats

Journal of Fungi, 2021

Wood decay fungi (WDF) seem to be particularly suitable for developing myco-materials due to their mycelial texture, ease of cultivation, and lack of sporification. This study focused on a collection of WDF strains that were later used to develop mycelium mats of leather-like materials. Twenty-one WDF strains were chosen based on the color, homogeneity, and consistency of the mycelia. The growth rate of each strain was measured. To improve the consistency and thickness of the mats, an exclusive method (newly patented) was developed. The obtained materials and the corresponding pure mycelia grown in liquid culture were analyzed by both thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate the principal components and texture. TGA provided a semi-quantitative indication on the mycelia and mat composition, but it was hardly able to discriminate differences in the production process (liquid culture versus patented method). SEM provided keen insight on the m...

An experimental study on production opportunities of biocomposite by using fungal mycelium

Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture and Planning

Due to the adaptability, durability, and affordability of synthetic polymers, their usage has been increasing in the global industry. These petroleum-based polymers remain intact in nature for many years after they expire and cannot be included in the natural recycling network in any way. Producing polymers using fossil resources increasingly day by day threatens existing resources and affects the circular economy negatively. Considering the various negative effects of polymers on the environment, biopolymers could be seen as a strong alternative; which is a polymer group formed by living organisms such as plants, animals, and microorganisms. Ecological, low-emission, and recyclable biopolymers open up new and a broad range of topics in the field. Composite materials created with these biopolymer materials that act as natural adhesives; have different developing areas of applications such as packaging industry, textile, furniture, and industrial design sectors, architectural designs...

Wood-Decaying Fungi: From Timber Degradation to Sustainable Insulating Biomaterials Production

Materials

Addressing the impacts of climate change and global warming has become an urgent priority for the planet’s well-being. In recent decades the great potential of fungal-based products with characteristics equal to, or even outperforming, classic petroleum-derived products has been acknowledged. These new materials present the added advantage of having a reduced carbon footprint, less environmental impact and contributing to the shift away from a fossil-based economy. This study focused on the production of insulation panels using fungal mycelium and lignocellulosic materials as substrates. The process was optimized, starting with the selection of Trametes versicolor, Pleurotus ostreatus, P. eryngii, Ganoderma carnosum and Fomitopsis pinicola isolates, followed by the evaluation of three grain spawn substrates (millet, wheat and a 1:1 mix of millet and wheat grains) for mycelium propagation, and finishing with the production of various mycelium-based composites using five wood by-produ...