Mycelium-based biofoam has the potential to become an alternative to petroleum-polymeric based-foam by utilising fungal mycelium and lignocellulosic material as the matrix and substrate, respectively. The lignocellulosic materials, which were rice husk, sawdust, and sugarcane bagasse, which is crucial for the production of biofoam, were tested as a substrate for Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium growth during the screening procedure. Three growth factors were varied during mycelium-based biofoam production: incubation temperature, spawn loading, and moisture content. In this study, rice husk was the ideal substrate in the production of mycelium biofoam compared to other fungi. The inhibition of P. ostreatus mycelium growth at 30°C incubation temperature was due to decay and contamination. On the other hand, by varying the growth factor of mycelium biofoam on rice husk, the optimum dry density of mycelium-biofoam was observed at 50% (w/w) moisture content (1.07 g/cm 3 ), while the optimum compressive strength was observed at 40% (w/w) spawn loading (1.350 MPa). These results showed that varying the growth factor could in uence the mechanical behaviour of the material. The morphology of the biofoam was also observed through a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Short and highly entangled tube-like structures and compact laments forming a material were seen, responsible for the lightness characteristic of the material. The functional group of the biofoam was also determined using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer. A new band of proteins and lipids was detected at 1633 cm −1 and 3280 cm −1 in the biofoam. It clearly shows that the chemical nature of feeding substrate responsible for the changes of material spectra. Therefore, this study highlighted that the biodegradable mycelium biofoam of P.ostreatus using rice husk as a substrate is a promising alternative to polymeric foam.
A series of blends of sago pith waste (SPW) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were prepared. Mechanical and water absorption properties of the composites have been investigated. In this study, variable amounts of plasticized SPW (pSPW) and PVA (pPVA) were processed in the presence of glycerol as plasticizers. Composites were compression molded and evaluated. The addition of pSPW reduced the tensile properties of the composites, lowering the elongation and increasing Young's modulus. The reduction in mechanical strength with the addition of pSPW was a general phenomenon due to the poor interfacial adhesion between the pPVA and Pspw, which can be proved by the scanning electron microscope observations. The percentage of water absorbed of the pPVA/pSPW biocomposites was higher than either the pPVA or pSPW alone while pSPW showed better water resistance compared to pPVA because of the restricted mobility exerted by the cellulose fibers. The incorporation of SPW into PVA decreased both the mechanical and water absorption properties.
In recent years, flexible pavement construction technology has relied heavily on the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). However, the brittle nature of RAP, which stems from the use of an aged asphalt, has introduced numerous complexities into the process, with important implications to pavement service life. The properties of the aged asphalt can be rejuvenated to improve the performance and the behavior of RAP mixtures. This paper presents a review of past works that have used rejuvenating materials with RAP, including their benefits and drawbacks, as well as the optimal approach to increase RAP content in asphaltic mixtures. The method of rejuvenating aged asphalt and the mechanism of rejuvenation are also reviewed. The findings of this review can be used to predict the current and future challenges in the regeneration of RAP mixtures using rejuvenating materials.
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