Basic Research of Material Properties of Mycelium-Based Composites
Vašatko, H.; Gosch, L.; Jauk, J.; Stavric, M.
What is it about?
Basic study from architecture: Pleurotus ostreatus and Ganoderma lucidum on beech and oak sawdust, bleached cellulose pulp, cardboard, newspaper, cotton and soy silk, partly with clay or sand. Density, compressive and flexural strength (EN 1015-11) and capillary water absorption were tested on brick-like cubes. Cardboard and newspaper gave the best strengths; G. lucidum samples absorbed much less water.
Experiments from this publication (14)
| Experiment | Fungus | Substrate mix | Density [kg/m³] | Measurements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beech sawdust · G. lucidum (FS-GL) | Ganoderma lucidum | 100 % Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm | 250 | 4 |
| Beech sawdust · P. ostreatus (FS-PO) | Pleurotus ostreatus | 100 % Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm | 260 | 4 |
| Bleached cellulose pulp · P. ostreatus (CS1-PO) | Pleurotus ostreatus | 100 % Bleached cellulose pulp · pieces Ø 2–6 mm | 340 | 3 |
| Cardboard, shredded · P. ostreatus (SC-PO) | Pleurotus ostreatus | 100 % Cardboard, shredded · approx. 35 mm (compression specimen) or approx. 15 mm (bending specimen) | 420 | 3 |
| Cellulose pulp 30 % + beech sawdust 70 % · P. ostreatus (CS1-FS-PO-01) | Pleurotus ostreatus | 70 % Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm 30 % Bleached cellulose pulp · pieces Ø 2–6 mm |
1 | |
| Cellulose pulp 70 % + beech sawdust 30 % · P. ostreatus (CS1-FS-PO-02) | Pleurotus ostreatus | 70 % Bleached cellulose pulp · pieces Ø 2–6 mm 30 % Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm |
1 | |
| Clay + beech sawdust · G. lucidum (C-FS-GL) | Ganoderma lucidum | Modelling clay Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm |
1 | |
| Cotton fibres · P. ostreatus (CO-PO) | Pleurotus ostreatus | 100 % Cotton fibres · fibre length approx. 5 cm | 220 | 2 |
| Newspaper · P. ostreatus (SN-PO) | Pleurotus ostreatus | 100 % Newspaper · approx. 15 mm | 1 | |
| Oak sawdust · G. lucidum (Q-GL) | Ganoderma lucidum | 100 % Oak sawdust · 1–2 mm | 2 | |
| Sand + beech sawdust 1:1 · P. ostreatus (S-FS-PO-01) | Pleurotus ostreatus | Sand Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm |
230 | 2 |
| Sand + beech sawdust 1:4 (vol.) · P. ostreatus (S-FS-PO-02) | Pleurotus ostreatus | Sand Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm |
510 | 2 |
| Sand + beech sawdust, bending specimens · P. ostreatus (S-FS-PO-03/-04) | Pleurotus ostreatus | Sand Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm |
2 | |
| Soy silk + beech sawdust · P. ostreatus (FS-SF-PO) | Pleurotus ostreatus | Soy silk fibres Beech sawdust · approx. 3 mm |
240 | 2 |
Notes on data extraction
Taken from Tables 1–7. Many variants are single specimens. Substrate pre-tests (10 × 10 × 2 cm, 20 days in mould + 5 days without): straw (moisture 60.23 %) broke, wheat bran (46.75 %) was contaminated, cellulose pulp (64.17 %) shrank up to 40 % (with jute fabric up to 5 %), beech sawdust (58 %) shrank 10 %. Mean water absorption coefficient for beech/P. ostreatus calculated from the three single values.