Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Foreign petroleum constitutes more than 60% of the oil used in the United States, and although significant strides are being taken to ensure future independence for fuel needs, the 10% of petroleum imports that are used as feedstock to produce materials are typically ignored. High density petrol-foams such as Divinycell or H1, are commonly used in products from vehicle panels to wind turbine blades--all of which bore witness to a 50% price increase due to rising oil prices in mid-2008. Ecovative's patent-pending, biomaterial is literally grown to the near net shape of the final product from a substrate of industrial and agricultural byproducts. This novel biomaterial, MycoPly, has superior strength and elasticity to the aforementioned petrol-foams while exhibiting a comparable density. The product is grown using less than a fifth of the embodied energy that is required to fabricate an equivalent quantity of the high density foams, thus allowing the composite to potentially retail for less than current petrol- foams. Furthermore the composite is aerobically compostable after product use and carbon neutral in the manufacturing process, which reduces the environmental footprint that exists with petrol-foam products. MycoPly is grown from a fungal saprophyte that derives the energy required to grow the biomaterial from a lignocellulosic source. This source can have economic synergies with existing biofuel crops, using the fuel byproducts as the nutrient source and thereby driving further economic incentives for biofuel production. Agricultural byproducts from existing industrial crops (e.g. cottonseed hulls and distillers dried grains) can be implemented as the lignocellulosic feedstock, creating a higher value-added product while requiring minimal additional water and time inputs.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
15%
Applied
60%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
Ecovative Design's primary objectives under this phase I proposal are to obtain strength and growth metrics for MycoPly, which will ensure a competitive advantage by offering a lower cost, sustainable material that has superior properties. Multiple metrics are dependent on the growth time and scale of the selected fungi, this is important to maintain the lowest capital expense possible while producing the greatest quantity of material to meet demand. The fungal fruiting bodies must reach a magnitude of 2 to 3 feet of pileus or stipe growth, either independently or via thigmotropic growth, during a period of 120-160 days from initial inoculation to the completion of post processing. The growth metrics are based on mushroom cultivation economics and the price point to be high cost competitive. Material inputs surrounding the substrate must be optimized for each fungal species to produce such yields and growth speeds, while maintaining an inexpensive lignin/cellulose source. Thus agricultural and biofuel byproducts will be an examined complex carbohydrate source, these components were selected due to prevalence in most United States regions. Fabrication of the engineered substrata and fungal inoculum will initiate on May 1, 2009, and the first stage of growth will be completed in mid-October, 2009. During that period the growth enclosures, which with form the basidiocarps during growth, will be fabricated and positioned on the colonized substrata. The enclosures will reduce post-processing requirements for testing and control the environment for desired growth. Material growth will be complete by the end of November, 2009, and all materials will be tested for physical performance. To compete effectively most of the physical properties of the material must be comparable or superior in terms of density and strength, MycoPly's superb elasticity might offer opportunities in markets that the competitor's material cannot operate within. All materials will therefore be tested to ASTM compliance for density, compressive (D3501), and tensile (D3500), flexural (D3034); the results of which will be tabulated in a final report that will offer the best product entry point for MycoPly as well as a suggestion for a Phase II manufacturing/scale-up study. The tests will be conducted on an Instron 4204 against controls of petrol-foam and balsa; MycoPly must benchmark favorably to be considered a success. The aforementioned material metrics are associated with a scaled decision matrix to aid in selecting the best species for a Phase II commercialization study. The desired performance specifications are a density of 200 kg/m3, a compressive strength of 7.0 MPa, a tensile strength of 10.0 MPa, and shear strength of 4.5 MPa; the selected fungal species must meet all or most of these specifications. All testing will be completed prior to December, which will allocate enough time to compile data, make a suggestion for progressing toward commercialization, and complete the final report.
Project Methods
The fungal inoculum is generated for the 5 species to standard practice using either winter rye berry or hardwood sawdust as the tissue carrier depending on whether the organism is preferential toward lignin or cellulose. The engineered substrata design are based on literature which determine the optimal carbon to nitrogen content (C:N), moisture, pH, and lignocellulosic material. Prior to introducing the fungal tissue to either the initial carrier or substrate the materials are sterilized in an autoclave at 15 psi or 121 C, this ensures successful growth and prevention of contamination. During the colonization period the inoculated substrate are maintained at Skidmore College where all materials are kept in a temperature and humidity controlled room, with conditions measured daily. For the duration of the mycelium growth each substrate bag is measured of percent colonization in 3-day intervals until the vegetative growth is complete. A 1 cm by 1 cm square grid is used to measure the degree of growth, number of segments which exhibit mycelium, on front of each substrate bag, 120 bags in total. Post colonization the bags are transported to the Ecovative Design laboratory in which environmentally controlled grow rooms coupled with growth enclosures of particular geometries are designed to induce pinning and formation of basiocarps. The grow rooms control the levels of carbon dioxide, relative humidity, and temperature with fuzzy logic controllers; all data is recorded with a data acquisition system twice daily. The room is positively pressurized with hepa-filtered air to maintain the carbon dioxide level between 340 to 1000 ppm. As outlined in the initial workplan, an effective method for growing a continuous stipe is to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide above atmospheric, which will be controlled with the growth enclosures lined with Arnitel films with varying gas exchange rates. The wavelength of light, 380-500 nm, excites particular enzymatic responses that induce fruiting. The growth enclosures are either opaque to prevent the ambient light from affecting basidiocarp formation or translucent to allow light from a halide lamp to accelerate pelius growth. The light is cycled on an analog timer to emulate natural conditions. The temperature in the Ecovative grow rooms is reduced to 17 C to inducing pinning, all fungal species under this scope of work are mesophiles. Once fruiting has occurred the basidiocarps of identical strains will be placed in close proximity using the engineered growth enclosures. As previously noted in literature the fruiting bodies of identical strains will fuse via a thigmotropic response; thus forming a continuous piece of material. During that period the length of cohesion is measured with calipers. A decision matrix was developed to determine optimal growth and includes: cohesion efficiency, time to initiate hyphal fusion, and homogeneity of final material. The final tasks in the workplan encompass determination of the physical properties of the mycological materials, all of which are tested to ASTM compliance for density, compressive strength, shear strength, and tensile strength.