Production and characterisation of composites from fungal mycelium and industrial residues

Gradbena industrija in onesnaževanje s pakirno embalažo imata pomemben vpliv na okolje. Eden od možnih pristopov za zmanjšanje onesnaženja so biokompoziti, ki se najpogosteje izdelujejo iz ostankov kmetijske in lesne industrije. V okviru tega diplomskega dela smo preučili možnost uporabe nekaterih pogostih lignoceluloznih ostankov in manj izkoriščenih materialov, kot je volna, za proizvodnjo biokompozitov. S tem bi tudi prispevali k uveljavitvi principa krožnega gospodarstva, saj bi po končani življenjski dobi izdelke lažje reciklirali. Naša rešitev bi prav tako lahko pomagala pri morebitnem pomanjkanju kmetijskih in lesnih ostankov, do katerega bi lahko prišlo ob razširitvi proizvodnje biokompozitov. Biokompoziti so narejeni iz substrata, ki je najpogosteje lignocelulozen in je povezan v celoto z gostim prepletom hif, zaradi česar so tudi veliko bolj razgradljivi v primerjavi s konvencionalnimi materiali. Med izbranimi materiali, ki smo jih preučevali, so bili furnirna vezana plošča, karton, cigaretni ogorki, denim in volna. Te substrate smo obdelali, jih inokulirali z glivo ter pustili, da jih glivni micelij preraste, nato pa smo termalno deaktivirali glivo. Pridobljenim materialom smo določili gostoto in izmerili stični kot vode, kar nam je omogočilo oceno hidrofobnosti. Ugotovili smo, da ima na niti razgrajen denim velik potencial za uporabo v ta namen.The construction industry and pollution from packaging materials have a significant impact on the environment. One of the possible approaches to reduce pollution is biocomposites, which are usually made from residues from the agricultural and wood industries. In this bachelor thesis, we have investigated the possible use of certain common lignocellulosic residues and less used materials such as wool for the production of biocomposites. This would also help to establish the principles of a circular economy and facilitate the recycling of products at the end of their life cycle. Our solution could also counteract a possible shortage of agricultural and wood residues resulting from the expansion of biocomposite production. Biocomposites are made from a substrate often consisting of lignocellulose intertwined with a dense network of hyphae, which makes them more degradable compared to conventional materials. The selected materials studied included veneer plywood, cardboard, cigarette butts, denim and wool. These substrates were treated, inoculated with fungi, colonised with fungal mycelium and then thermally deactivated. We determined the density of the materials obtained and measured their water contact angle, which allowed us to assess hydrophobicity. We found that denim that had been broken down into threads had significant potential for use in this context