Production of Mycoblock from the Mycelium of the Fungus Pleurotus ostreatus for Use as Sustainable Construction Materials

Abstract

As the global population rises, resource depletion and environmental pollution also aggravate. To meet the needs of the population, different products have been manufactured. However, most industrially manufactured products are not eco-friendly, costly, and locally unavailable. To solve these problems, using and enhancing locally available biomaterials are the key option. Three substrates sawdust, bagasse, and coffee husk and the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus were used. Mycelium was fully colonized by 9, 14, and 27 days on potato dextrose agar (PDA), sorghum grain, and substrate, respectively. The mycelium growth on coffee husk showed the fastest growth rate whereas that of the sawdust was slowest. The fully colonized substrates were molded for 7, 14, and 21 days by plastic mold to maintain their regular 3D structure. The result shows that the block made with sawdust at 21 molding period has higher compressive strength and density of 750 kPa and 343.44 Kg/m3, respectively, followed by bagasse and coffee husk. These variations were due to the mycelium density difference between the substrates. Physicochemical and mechanical characteristics such as mycelium morphology, bimolecular and elemental analysis of substrates, density, water absorption, and compressive strength of the block were analyzed. This technology has the potential to replace conventional construction and packaging materials used for indoor applications such as insulation, partition walls, and other design and architectural applications. It also benefits in terms of its low cost, green synthesis approach, nontoxicity, low environmental emission, recyclability, and local availability.

Effects of Environmental and Nutritional Conditions on Mycelium Growth of Three Basidiomycota

“…The mixtures’ water capacity ( U ) was determined by adapting the procedure of Alemu et al. [ 27 ] by adding 50 ml Millipore-Q-water to 5 g of each substrate and covered with aluminum foil to avoid moisture loss by evaporation. The samples were soaked for 24 h at ambient conditions.…”

Sustainable Mycelium-Bound Biocomposites: Design Strategies, Materials Properties, and Emerging Applications

“…By creating a phylogenetic tree, a pool of 36 fungal species has been listed to produce mycelium-bound biocomposite for various applications . The list comprises saprophytic fungi capable of digesting all kinds of lignocellulosic waste and includes species such as Trametes versicolor , Fomes fomentarius , Gandoderma lucidum , Irpex lacteus , Pleurotus djamor , Pleurotus ostreatus , and Schizophyllum commune among others. , However, the typical filamentous fungi genera for producing mycelium-bound biocomposites have been Gandoderma, Pleurotus, Pycnoporus , and Trametes . These species from these fungal genera have demonstrated remarkable growth characteristics, especially their hyphal architecture, which grows into an extensive network whose only limiting factor is the substrate volume. , This review summarizes the widely utilized fungal species in mycelium-bound biocomposite in Table in the Biomanufacturing, Postprocessing, and Advanced Materials Features section.…”

“…52 The list comprises saprophytic fungi capable of digesting all kinds of lignocellulosic waste and includes species such as Trametes versicolor, Fomes fomentarius, Gandoderma lucidum, Irpex lacteus, Pleurotus djamor, Pleurotus ostreatus, and Schizophyllum commune among others. 53,54 However, the typical filamentous fungi genera for producing mycelium-bound biocomposites have been Gandoderma, Pleurotus, Pycnoporus, and Trametes. These species from these fungal genera have demonstrated remarkable growth characteristics, especially their hyphal architecture, which grows into an extensive network whose only limiting factor is the substrate volume.…”