American companies use mushroom fibers to produce furniture

Applying a process called 'biofabrication' , researchers come from Ecovative and bioMASON - two companies that find sustainable alternatives to consumer goods, which have produced the generation of furniture made from mycelium, agricultural waste and microorganisms . 'What we're doing is using bio-derived materials to produce products,' said Eben Bayer, CEO of Ecovative.

'In most cases, such as when brewing, microorganisms used in the fermentation process are eventually filtered out. But microorganisms are the best factor, and it is also part of the furniture we produce. ' We know that a mushroom is made up of many thin thread-like tissues, often called hyphae , which is the material of choice to create stools and table legs.

In nature, these fibers act as 'capturing' the minerals in the soil to help the fungus grow as well as scale up. Based on this characteristic, scientists can adjust them to form scaffolds, surrounding wood chips and hemp, binding them together during development. Bayer said he began to realize the potential power of mycelia from being a student of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York, USA), when he raised mushrooms in his bedroom to serve a lesson on. Class.

At the time, he discovered that mushroom mycelium could be used to create soft and spongy materials , with the ability to replace plastic foams commonly used as protective plates in computer enclosures and electronic devices. Unlike ordinary foam, the material made of mycelia is easy to participate in the biodegradation process. Since that idea was formed about a decade ago, Ecovative has now been able to replicate the production process of such materials on an industrial scale.

Mushroom fibers can be used to create soft and spongy materials.

It is known that Dell computer company is one of the companies that are cooperating with Ecovative to use mushroom foam in computer enclosures. Not stopping there, Bayer knows there are still many applications of untapped mushroom mycelia. With flexible flexural capabilities, mycelium can be manipulated into products with different shapes and textures."By changing the environmental conditions in which they grow, we can get tissues with many different properties and structures ," he said.

For example, adjusting the temperature or concentration of carbon dioxide will make mycelia more durable. When the fungus is no longer supplied with nutrients, it dies and hardens. With a bit of temperature and pressure, this hyphae can then be compressed into solid blocks, enough to withstand an adult's weight when sitting up.

From the hyphae, a marble-like material was also created, thanks to the application of a production process developed by Ginger Krieg Dosier, executive director of bioMASON. This method works by allowing bacteria to make calcium carbonate around sand grains, similar to how shells and coral reefs are formed.'The real process is inspired by nature' , Dosier said. "We can discover different shapes and different applications of this technology just by changing the size of sand, temperature, pH or adding colors to the mix '.

Depending on the ingredients in the mixture as well as the environmental conditions, the resulting product may be used to produce bricks, tiles or countertops."This is a better and friendlier solution for making materials. Why use fire to harden bricks, a process that emits so much carbon pollution, while we can produce them right away. at normal temperatures' , Dosier stressed.

So far, many companies have decided to invest in environmentally friendly materials, such as mushrooms made from mushrooms or. However, the problem of these solutions probably lies in the scale of production scale.