The objective of this work was to study the biodegradability of polylactic acid (PLA)/paddy straw powder (PSP) biocomposites. Environmental degradation was evaluated by composting the biocomposite samples into the soil. Different techniques, including mechanical tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were used to obtain a view of the degradation that occurred during the soil burial of the biocomposites. Results of the mechanical tests showed that an increasing content of PSP in the biocomposites decreased the tensile strength and elongation at break (EB), while it increased the modulus of elasticity after six months of exposure. Scanning electron microscopy on the surface after soil burial showed that the filler was poorly wetted by the matrix. This explains the reduction in tensile strength and the elongation at break after soil burial. Differential scanning calorimetry results indicated that the crystallinity of the biocomposites increased with longer composting periods.

Agricultural wastes and leaves, which are classified as lignocellulosic biomass, have been used as substrates in the production of fungal foams due to the significant growth of the mushroom industry in recent years. Foam derived from fungi can be utilized in a variety of industrial applications, including the production of packaging materials. Here, white oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus florida) and yellow oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus citrinopileatus) were cultivated on rice husk, sawdust, sugarcane bagasse, and teak leaves. Fungal foams were produced after 30 days of incubation, which were then analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis (TGA), and chemical structure using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Mechanical testing examined the material’s hardness, resilience, and springiness, and water absorption tests were used to determine the durability of the fungal foams. Our findings demonstrated that fungal foams made from rice husk and teak leaves in both mycelium species showed better mechanical properties, thermal stability, and minimal water absorption compared to the other substrates, and can thus have great potential as efficient packaging materials.

Grey oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sajor-caju) is an edible mushroom cultivated in Malaysia mainly due to its high nutritional and medicinal value. The demand of Pleurotus sajor-caju in local and foreign market rises continuously. In this study, the effect of electrical shock treatment and exposure to blue color LED on the growth, yield and quality of Pleurotus sajor-caju was investigated. There were 6 sets of electrical shock and blue LED treatments applied during spawning and production phase. Mushroom bags which did not receive any treatment were served as Control. The effect of electrical shock and blue LED treatments were observed in the aspects of mycelium growth rate, number of days taken for mycelium to fill-up the bag, pinhead emergence and fruiting body formation. There were significant enhancement in the yield for grey oyster mushroom for the bag treated with Electric and Blue LED, in the total fresh weight of fruiting bodies, number of fruiting bodies, percentages of biological efficiency and substrate utilized for every 100 g mushrooms produced. Therefore, the mushroom bags which were treated with electrical shock and blue LED is the best compared to the other treatments due to significant higher rate of mycelium growth, relatively higher yield and good quality of mushroom.

No abstract

Degradation is any physical or chemical adjustment in polymer due to environment factor, such as heat, moisture, light, chemical conditions and biological activity. The aim of this work was to determine the biotic degradation efficiency of plastic hygiene products by using Pleurotus ostreatus. Sanitary pads and diapers were used as samples. All the samples will be exposed to the Pleurotus ostreatus for 90 days. The degradation efficiencies were analysed based on tensile reduction, morphology and chemical properties of the samples by using universal tensile machine, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), respectively. The tensile reduction percentage for all samples was increase. The morphology and chemical properties of the samples also showed some changes after undergoes 90 days degradation.