Researchers discover mushroom to replace fossil-based plastic

24 Feb 2023 --- Finnish scientists have developed new durable and lightweight materials from the Fomes fomentarius mushroom that prove promising as a reusable, biodegradable plastic replacement.

The F. fomentarius is a functionally graded material with three distinct layers and properties that can apply to different material needs. Its architectural design is a source of inspiration for an emerging class of ultra lightweight high-performance materials. 

“Architectural design and biochemical principles of the F. fomentarius fungus open new possibilities for material engineering, such as manufacturing ultra-lightweight technical structures, fabricating nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical properties, or exploring new fabrication routes for the next generation of programmable materials with high-performance functionalities,” says Pezhman Mohammadi, one of the authors and senior scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

“Furthermore, growing the material using simple ingredients could help to overcome the cost, time, mass production, and [environmental] sustainability of how we make and consume materials in the future.”

In order to not hurt biodiversity, the mushrooms would have to be manually grown. Mushroom mechanisms 
F. fomentarius has three layers, each with separate textile properties for different packaging applications. The root structure of mushrooms is mycelium. It is the primary component in all layers. 

“The multicellular fruiting bodies produced by fungi have great variance not only in terms of their appearance and edibility but also in their extraordinary material properties,” write the study authors. 

“Mycelium exhibits a distinct microstructure in each layer with unique preferential orientation, aspect ratio, density, and branch length. An extracellular matrix acts as a reinforcing adhesive that differs in each layer in terms of quantity, polymeric content and interconnectivity,” explains Mohammadi.

Layer by layer
The outer layer is a tough textile that could make an impact-resistant coating, according to the research. Some potential applications for the material are sports equipment, body armor, exoskeletons for aircraft, electronics or surface coatings for windshields.

The middle layer produces lightweight polypore fruiting bodies that have been used for thousands of years as leathery and soft felt-like materials with mechanical durability, according to the researchers. 

The third inner layer has similar qualities and textures to wood. Therefore, it shows promise as a more environmentally sustainable, biodegradable and reusable replacement for paper and wood packaging. A new study finds that mushrooms that grow on trees can potentially replace plastic.

“We were amazed by the structure because one thing that you immediately notice if you’re a biologist is that when something that beautiful starts to form, nature just doesn’t do it because of how nice it is –  there must be a function there,” continues Mohammadi.

Lab-grown mushrooms
While these mushrooms grow on their own, they would have to be grown in a controlled environment to be harvested ecologically without harming or disturbing the environment. 

Mass-producing them for market applications would cause a lot of infrastructure and funding to create the appropriate facilities.

The scientists believe their material could replace plastic in multiple different uses. The results yield promise for greener packaging and other materials. The researchers recently created a prototype set of headphones using mycelium from mushrooms. 

Mushroom innovation
In January, Fungi Solutions revealed its methods of turning mushrooms into compostable packaging for the Australian market. The converting process combined fungi with organic waste to grow and create compostable packaging. After use, the packaging is home-compostable.

Previously, Community Biorecycling created a bio-recycling facility to carry out research into mycelium to break down and digest plastic. The project developed four strains of mycelium and “trained them” to digest plastic at an accelerated rate. 

Meanwhile, UK-based Magic Mushroom Company started large-scale production of its mushroom-derived home biodegradable packaging, a plastic-free alternative the company says can replace polystyrene in May 2021. 

By Sabine Waldeck