Although they are small and often go unnoticed, fungi play a key role not only in the functioning of ecosystems, but in various areas of life, ranging from food production to biotechnological advances. Taking into account their potential, Researchers from the Millennium Institute of Integrative Biology, iBio, in collaboration with the UC Biofabrication Laboratory, carried out an unprecedented project that allowed them to create a construction material from fungi.
The initiative, which was preceded by a series of analyses and involved several experts, aimed to develop a construction material from mushroom mycelium and agro-industrial waste (lignocellulosic), achieving an alternative to traditional inputs. Therefore, in addition to creating the product itself, a construction system was designed, that is, how a house could be built with them as a base.
In this regard, Sebastián Rodríguez, iBio researcher, Co-director of the Biofabrication Laboratory and Professor at the School of Design and Architecture of the Catholic Universityexplained that, as these are the first works of this type, Stage one was to make sure they were taking the right strains. They therefore began with a broad literature review to determine which fungi (wood decomposers) could be useful. Then, through field work and field trips, certain samples with material possibilities were isolated.
“After that, we began to put together an experimental matrix in the laboratory, which would allow us to know which fungus worked with which substrate. Finally, we increased the work volumes, in order to be able to make larger samples using the selected strains with the substrates, which included waste such as beer bagasse, wheat straw and wood shavings, among others,” said Rodríguez, adding that in parallel they advanced with the construction system, in order to understand how the material can be worked with, as a “brick”, with its corresponding views and assembly method.
Regarding the main results, Rodriguez said that This first foray opened new lines of research and “understanding that these construction logics have a high associated cost due to all the stages required: mold, drying, post-process. For this reason, we began to see how else we could manufacture materials like these, concluding that it was not simply a matter of increasing production volume, but that we had to work under other logics. In this way, new projects were born that seek, for example, the use of less technology and energy, the integration of digital manufacturing as a driving force of research and some with R&D outputs such as packaging development.”
One of the relevant points for the team in charge is that they have been able to compile the information in freely accessible protocols that allow the replicability of these materials. Thus, “by democratising access to information we can improve the recipes for these materials, understand new construction logics and technologies, among other variables.” In this sense, the professional relates that in the last field trips to Karukinka Park they tested a field laboratory that allows the collection and isolation of strains with possibilities in materials and “what we are looking for in the next trips is to do DNA extractions in the field, in order to have greater certainty about the fungi used.”
Finally, Rodríguez assures that there are multiple advantages over traditional materials such as foams. “From the production process, which aims at lower energy use, to obtaining raw materials, which are generally waste from other industries. We are facing a new construction logic and that is what we have to take into consideration.” And regarding the projections of use, he points out that there are currently architectural proposals (pavilions) that propose the use of these materials, either structurally or secondary, using digital manufacturing tools or more analogous techniques. However, “to reach the use of these materials in the field of construction, the important thing is academic research in different centers and in citizen laboratories. This gives way to better and faster advances, in relation to the more private sphere that patents research and advances and limits knowledge.”
2024-08-28 17:25:00