Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The principle objective of this commercialization effort is to produce "MycoSprout", a soilless growth media (SGM) composed of fungal tissue and compostable substrates that was designed to replace current toxic petroleum based growth media. Ecovative's mycological biomaterials are inherently bio-based, low-energy, rapidly renewable materials that self-assemble into high performance composites. The fungal tissue that binds the composite together is naturally water-repellent, however, it can be converted to provide absorbency using a benign chemical treatment process. The focus of this Phase II program was to scale the growth process of this SGM, the corresponding chemical post-process, and to foster a market of early adopters. The market and supply chain for soilless growth media is divided between manufacturers of the media, regional distributors of the product, and end users, which can range from individuals seeding a home garden through industrial growers. Ecovative has collaborated with all of the aforementioned parties in the supply chain, originally fostering a commercial development agreement with a leading manufacturer of phenolic foam seed starters. Furthermore, a European producer of soilless growth media that uses mineral and wood fibers as the substrate has also taken interest in the product, as synthetic resins are still used to bind these materials to form plugs. The company has shared samples with this firm as well, but the initial focal point continues to be the domestic market. Market analysis performed through testing partnerships has indicated a pilot level customer base within the local agricultural market in both seed starting and cutting propagation applications. Current marketing strategies include utilizing future testing partnerships as future pilot customers, as well as industry contacts to advance into their respective fields. Using testing partnerships to prove MycoSprout's functionality is vital to generating successful sales at a local scale because of the variety of entrenched processes employed by agricultural producers. Additionally, this tactic will inform development efforts toward national or regional distribution targeted to a customer base within the most suitable market using consistent processing practices. The successful pilots with end users has attracted distributors in the American Northeast (ME, NJ), and the company has altered the formulation of MycoSprout to reflect the feedback from all interested parties. Changes/Problems:The greatest challenges identified during the preliminary scaling stages were associated with the design of a growth enclosure that is compatible with Ecovative's existing infrastructureand optimal methodologies for filling the enclosure cavities with a fine particle substrate. The principle challenge with the growth enclosure is associated with the weakening of the plastic during the thermoforming process due to the depth of each plug cavity. This was ameliorated by increasing the spacing between the cavities, which resultedin fewer units per enclosure and a higher retail price. A thicker gauge of the plastic alsobolstered the strength of each cavity, and would also increase thethe cost per unit but less so than a weakened enclosure. Ecovative's automated filling technology, known as an "autofiller", also exhibited bottlenecks to integrating the fine particle substrate (coir and rice hulls) that enables the Myco Sprout technology. The autofiller leverages the Venturi effect to pneumatically convey a solid media into growth enclosures. A screen is used on top of the growth enclosures during filling to permit air to escape , and the mesh size is selected such that the solid media stays in the tool. The fine particulate selected for Myco Sprout, however, can pass through these screens which results in an inconsistent fill within the growth enclosure and later rejected parts. The team had resolved this issued using a different system to break up the solid media and convey the materials into a growth tray using a cascading method. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Blend development research concluded supplemental nutrition significantly improved fungal colonization performance in the coir substrate product. Incorporating rice hulls into the base coir blend offered dramatic post treatment handling and processing characteristics. The blend characteristics were superior to properties of individual constituents, and have drastically improved seed starter product saturation, and enabled higher percentage coir content, which is favorable due to superior feature resolution and treatment yield. Following a thorough assessment of substrates, saturation and handling performance, an 80% coir and 20% Rice Hull blend was identified as the desired prototype control blend. Several treatment and processing improvements were tested, validated, and implemented to increase saturation and biological performance. Reducing drying temperature made significant improvements to water absorption rate and product consistency. Drying fine particle substrates at a high temperature caused dimensional contraction, and mechanical failure during saturation testing. Experimental sets dried at lower temperatures (140°F and 125°F) were compared to 180°F control parts, revealing a relationship between drying temperature and saturation time. Furthermore, decreasing temperature also increased the saturation consistency. These changes and subsequent product enhancements are thought to be due to reduced hornification of agricultural fibers and reduced contraction and warping of product during drying. The lower drying temperatures also offer the advantage of decreased surfactant degradation during reduced temperature drying. Improved performance of the product signaled reevaluation of components in a cost-of-goods analysis, and subsequently reduction of required surfactant. Surfactant reduction is beneficial to biological performance due to any water retention or toxic effects surfactants may have which lead to stunted seedling growth and low seed germination yield. The 0.1% NatSurFact had an average saturation time of 34 seconds and outperformed 0.5% NatSurFact control parts dried at 180°F in saturation time and consistency. In order to address the targeted market subsector to launch an organic production certified product, a screening of organic certified surfactants was conducted. These surfactants were taken from the list of surfactants and wetting agents currently certified under the Organic Materials Review Institute and were compared at similar dry additions to Suganate 160NC, the current control standard. NatSurFact is an anionic rhamnolipid surfactant, fermented from vegetable oil. The surfactant screening determined that Natsurfact was the best performer during saturation testing (average of 12.7 seconds), and also was the most consistent in germination testing. Biological performance testing on Myco Sprout plugs has been conducted in a variety of agricultural settings and industries, including cutting propagation of herbs, micro-green production, and lettuce production from seed. Several of these testing relationships have proven fruitful in regards to production of viable plants, as well as learning processes and needs of various fields within the agriculture industry. Large scale biological performance testing was performed at Gade Farm in Altamont, NY. Rosemary cuttings were propagated into 250 Myco Sprout seed starter plugs, of various nutrient and substrate blends. Although growth success varied between experimental sets, current control sets proved to be successful both with and without addition of rooting hormones. This was the first instance of Myco Sprout plugs being used for cutting propagation, indicating potential for market expansion into the cutting propagation industry. Seedling germination testing performed at Get Fresh Farms in Fort Wayne, Indiana indicated that Myco Sprout plugs provided similar performance to Lilypad coco coir and Gro Dan plugs. No quantitative analysis was performed during this testing partnership, however the point of contact from Get Fresh Farms indicated that "The Ecovative starter plugs prove to be a viable option for seed starting. Their ability to withstand prolonged moisture exposure and elevated temperature poise them for a future in urban farming. Their sustainable manufacturing process is met with practicality in use. Throughout testing their performance has shown beyond adequate and comparable to performance of similar seed starting products." Myco Sprout has also been tested as micro-green growth medium at Edenworks, a micro-green producer in Brooklyn NY. 20 plugs of Arugula micro greens were grown alongside the standard production loose fill blend. Myco Sprout plug performance was analogous to the production growth medium. In house germination testing at Ecovative Design has shown vast improvements through selection of a substrate blend, as well as various processing updates. In house germination has shown that in addition to improving saturation and shape retention, reducing drying temperature to 140°F greatly improves germination success. Several tooling designs were tested throughout the course of the work plan. All experiments throughout Phase 1, as well as all experiments not pertaining to tooling design during Phase 2, were completed in acylonitrile butadiene styrene trays from Smithers Oasis. Initial tool designs strove to deliver a plastic free end product, similar to Smithers Oasis® Root Cube, or Cultilene® Rockwool. The design used Polyethylene terephthalate trays as growth chambers for the biocomposite material in a continuous sheet. Ganged part prototypes were initially tested using a 12 inch by 12 inch footprint with individual plugs joined at the top, similar to the design of Cultilene Rockwool. Although this design proved to be successful during colonization, the parts easily fractured after infusion, and plugs often fully separated during treatment. Regrind occurs halfway through the growth cycle of many of Ecovative's applications. It is the mechanical grinding of colonized material so that it can be shaped and regrown into its final product geometry. Regrind also helps to redistribute colonization in the bag, and facilitates nutrient addition to increase colonization rate if necessary for the application. Production and prototype scale regrind uses trommel with ¾" perforations to grind substrate for most low-density applications. The trommel grinds 20-30 lbs wet pounds of material during a 75 second cycle time. In order to accommodate for MycoSprout's tray autofilling needs, a gravity fed autofiller was tested that evening distribute material over multiple cavities at a time. A fluted roller, which is two tinned drums that rotate in opposing directions at varying speeds, was used to open the residual clumps. The raw materials then cascaded particles to overfill a collared tray that was conveyed underneath. The collared tray was manuallyshaken to settle the particles into the individual cavities.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
"The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics"
http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
5 key takeaways from USCCF Sustainability Forum on the circular economy.
https://www.wastedive.com/news/circular-economy-usccf-sustainability-forum-2016/419461/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Investing in the Growth of our Collective Future.
https://medium.com/global-entrepreneurship-summit/investing-in-the-growth-of-our-collective-future-a11a91883ad4
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Over the last 12 months, Ecovative has continued to explore the applications for its soilless growth media, Myco Sprout. Trials have been conducted at four locations across the United States, and explored the efficacy of Myco Sprout as a growth medium for both seeds and cuttings. Ecovative's technology was able to successfully parity the performance of the current state of the art in the field in all test cases, and as such the entire market is addressable. Growers that use soilless growth mediahave displayed strong direct interest in a compostable and certified organicbio-based growth media. Hydroponic growth media are a higher-margin, lower volume product that will allow this product a smoother entry to market. In addition, this market still makes up more than half of the total North American grower market, estimated at more than $150 million in 2015. Ecovative presently grows an annual volume of 250,000 ft3 of mycological biomaterials per shift in our green Island, NY, facility, and has recently opened a new facility in nearby Troy, NY that will greatly increase throughput. With this change, Ecovative's products will be available to a much wider target audience. Thus, capacity to execute pilot-scale production of soilless growth medium products will occur during the Phase II work plan. Changes/Problems:The first year of the Phase II work plan has completed the material development of Myco Sprout soilless growth media, and industry partners have confirmed performance. The second year of the work plan will focus on scaling the material technology through Ecovative's pilot systems to begin seeding the regional horticulture industry with Myco Sprout product to provide market benchmarking (assessing price premium, repeat performance, quality, etc). The greatest challenges identified during the preliminary scaling stages are associated with the design of a growth enclosure that is compatible with Ecovative's existing infrastructure and optimal methodologies for filling the enclosure cavities with a fine particle substrate.The growth enclosure design will be iterative, and the principle challenge is associated with the weakening of the plastic during the thermoforming process due to the depth of each plug cavity. This can be ameliorated by increasing the spacing between the cavities, which will result in fewer units per enclosure and a higher retail price. Another method could entail increasing the starting gauge (thickness) of the plastic to bolster the strength of each cavity, and this too would increase the cost per unit but less so. Ecovative's automated filling technology, known as an "autofiller", also exhibited bottlenecks to integrating the fine particle substrate (coir and rice hulls) that enables the Myco Sprout technology. The autofiller presently leverages the Venturi effect to pneumatically convey a solid media into growth enclosures. A screen is used on top of the growth enclosures during filling to permit air to escape , and the mesh size is selected such that the solid media stays in the tool. The fine particulate selected for Myco Sprout, however, can pass through these screens which results in an inconsistent fill within the growth enclosure and later rejected parts. The Ecovative team has begun to explore the current state of the art in filling equipment for the horticulture industry and has prototyped vibratory filling equipment to sanitarily convey this fine substrate into small cavities. Similarly, soil filling equipment for seed trays typically leverage silicone sweeps that remove residual material from the surface of the tray. This would be beneficial when sealing the growth enclosure to ensure a clean environment can be maintained during incubation to mitigate vectors of contamination. The second year of the work plan will focus on analyzing the current start of the art of seed starter trays and filling technology to develop and acquire pilot scale equipment that will permit the company to begin early sales in 2017. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Ecovative has conducted pilot trials with the soilless growth media, which has been given the trade name Myco Sprout™ soilless growth media. These trials were conducted in three states (OH, NY, IL) with manufacturers of soilless growth media products as well as end users. Two propagation methods have been confirmed for applicability, both seeds and cuttings, which have demonstrated comparable performance to other technologies presently deployed in the industry. Furthermore, Myco Sprout has been confirmed fortwo cultivation methods, hydroponic and soil, when inoculated with seeds. These trials will continue through the second year of the Phase II work plan to confirm results in larger replicates. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Over the second year of the Phase II work plan the material composition that has been verified for performance will be scaled through Ecovative's pilot manufacturing system. The primary goals, based on the challenges identified during the first year of work, are to: (1) develop a growth enclosure format that will integrate into Ecovative's existing tray handling equipment; and (2) to examine to develop or adapt a growth enclosurefilling methodology that is compatible with the substrate composition that has been developed. Once these scaling systems are demonstrated, the team will grow larger volumes of Myco Sprout to complete pilot trials with the identified early adopters to confirm results in larger trial. This product will then be used to seed the market with sufficient product to meet initial customers' needs. The selected customers will be within Ecovative's geography so that the company can stay actively engaged on the product's performance and ensure it continues to meet customer requirements.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
There were several strides made in regards to optimizing the material composition for manufacturability. First, through industry trials, the Ecovative team has identified a substrate composition that meets the water sorptionand growth propagation (seed and cutting) rates of conventional soilless growth media products. Further, the potassium hydroxide infusion process has been scaled to >5X capacity while maintaining the process time efficiency to the laboratory methods developed under the Phase I work plan. Preliminary scaling trials identified challenges leveraging Ecovative's existing pilot manufacturing equipment for the substrate composition selected for the soilless growth media. New equipment has been identified for material processing and has demonstrated some early success. This will remain the focus of the second year of the Phase II work plan, as the process needs to continue to scale to meet the requirements of pilot trials.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
"Ecovative's co-founder can grow anything out of mushrooms." Author: Emily Siegel
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