Mycelium shows potential as sustainable fire-retardant

Associate Professor Tien Huynh, a biotechnology and mycology expert at RMIT University, said they have shown that mycelium can be grown from renewable organic waste.

“Fungi are usually found in a composite form mixed with residual feed material, but we found a way to grow pure mycelium sheets that can be layered and engineered into different uses – from flat panels for the building industry to a leather-like material for the fashion industry,” Huynh said in a statement.

The novel method of creating mycelium sheets that are paper-thin is said to work without pulverising the mycelium’s filament network. Instead, they used different growth conditions and chemicals to make the thin, uniform material. The team’s work is detailed in Polymer Degradation and Stability.

“The great thing about mycelium is that it forms a thermal protective char layer when exposed to fire or radiant heat. The longer and the higher temperature at which mycelium char survives, the better its use as a fireproof material,” said Associate Professor Everson Kandare, co-author of the paper.