Development of a novel mycelium bio-composite material to substitute for polystyrene in packaging applications

Recent developments in biotechnology and its integration with material science have given rise to a new set of materials that utilize natural mechanisms to produce constituent matter. These developments are required as the current generation of materials are to be replaced with novel green materials that will not become a source of pollution to our planet. Environmental issues that are caused as a result of non-biodegradability of synthetic plastics, as well as fossil fuel depletion, are the main reasons to pursue alternate materials from natural sources. The paper mainly focuses on the development of mycelium-based bio-composites which makes use of saw dust-coir pith substrate as a potential replacement for expanded polystyrene (EPS) in packaging as well as other applications. Mycelium is a fibrous network of filamentous fungi that is formed on organic materials. Mycelia from the fungi, Pleurotus Ostreatus, feeds and grows on the saw dust-coir pith substrate that is mixed in the ratio 3:2. Mycelium based composites unlike other bio-materials are less expensive and have high production yields. Fabrication of the composite is done by selecting a suitable substrate ratio and the evaluation of the samples is done based on their biodegradability, compressive strength, acoustic performance, thermal conductivity and water absorption properties. All the tests showed promising results for the developed bio-composite and the composite can be earmarked as a possible alternative to EPS. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.