‘Trametes versicolor’, a wood-rotting fungus known as turkey tail, grows through waste OSB, converting it into a bio-based composite material for insulation.
Photo Credit: Tessa Hennis
Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Fungi-Based Bio-Composite Insulation
The Core Concept: Mycelium from the Trametes versicolor (turkey tail) fungus is used to break down hard-to-recycle engineered wood waste, transforming it into a sustainable, fire-resistant, and thermally insulating bio-composite material.
Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike traditional petrochemical insulation or other bio-composites that rely on agricultural crops, this process utilizes fungi to actively degrade oriented strand board (OSB) containing synthetic resins, using the growing mycelium network as a natural binding agent to construct the new material.
Major Frameworks/Components:
- Trametes versicolor: A resilient, wood-rotting fungus capable of breaking down complex organic materials and synthetic additives in engineered wood.
- Mycelium Network: Root-like fungal threads that absorb nutrients and act as a biological glue to bind the wood flakes.
- Oriented Strand Board (OSB): The primary waste substrate, composed of compressed wood flakes bonded with synthetic resins.
- Low-Carbon Production Model: A manufacturing process yielding a more than ten-fold reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional materials like extruded polystyrene or mineral wool.
Branch of Science: Bioengineering, Materials Science, Environmental Science, Mycology, Civil Engineering.
Future Application: Commercial scaling for green building insulation, sustainable packaging, soundproofing, and textiles, alongside potential applications utilizing fungi to degrade other toxic waste streams like plastics.
Why It Matters: The construction industry is a massive contributor to global carbon emissions and landfill volume. This innovation simultaneously diverts hazardous wood waste from landfills and provides a highly effective, biodegradable alternative to carbon-intensive building materials.
Trametes versicolor, a wood-rotting fungus known as turkey tail, grows through waste OSB, converting it into a bio-based composite material for insulation.
A common fungus can break down hard-to-recycle construction waste and turn it into sustainable insulation that rivals traditional and petrochemical-based options, according to researchers at the University of Bath.
The construction industry is a major contributor to carbon emissions and landfill waste worldwide. Wood waste makes up almost a third of construction and demolition waste and almost 10 percent of total landfill waste. To add strength and prevent rotting, much of this wood is treated with resins, making it hard to recycle and releasing toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases as it decomposes.
Researchers at Bath are tackling the problem with nature, feeding the waste wood to fungi. As fungi grow, they send out a network of root-like threads that break down organic material and absorb nutrients. This network, known as the mycelium, acts like a glue, binding the material into a natural, thermally insulating, and fire-resistant composite.
Joni Wildman, lead author of the study and a researcher in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, said, “One of the biggest challenges in construction is what happens to materials at the end of their life.
“Mycelium-based materials are a novel option that is gaining attention, but this is the first time we’ve shown the fungus doing two jobs at once: creating a sustainable insulation material and transforming challenging and potentially harmful waste into something valuable.”
Locally Found Fungi Break Down Engineered Wood
Mycelium-based composites are being tested as greener alternatives to traditional insulation materials; however, many are based on fast-growing crops or byproducts from the wood and paper industry. While these are classed as waste materials, they have valuable uses in animal feeds, textiles, and pulping.
Oriented strand board (OSB) is an engineered wood product made from compressed wood flakes bonded with synthetic resins. It is used in interior walls, flooring, and roof decking, and the waste is often burned or buried, posing a risk to health and the environment.
The researchers chipped and soaked waste OSB before adding Trametes versicolor, a wood-rotting fungus known as turkey tail that is found throughout UK woodlands. Even though the OSB contained synthetic additives, the team showed that the fungus grew successfully on it, creating a sturdy and consistent material.
They also found the thermal performance of the resulting biomaterial was on par with conventional insulation products, and carbon emissions were more than ten times lower in production than those of conventional materials, including expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene, and mineral wool.
Turning Innovation into Sustainable Solutions
This study demonstrates how some of the building industry’s most complex waste can offer a practical solution toward more circular materials that do not compromise on performance.
Dr. Andrew Shea, the project supervisor and a researcher in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, said, “This is an exciting step toward using biology to rethink how we make and use materials in building construction.”
Wildman added, “As we test this concept further, we could see these materials being used in a range of applications, like packaging, soundproofing, or even textiles, replacing high-carbon materials with biodegradable and circular alternatives.”
While the bio-based material produced far fewer carbon emissions than traditional insulation, the team noted that energy use, especially during drying, was the largest source of emissions. They plan to explore how the process can be scaled up to industrial production while cutting the energy demands and impact of manufacturing.
Looking forward, they will monitor how the material performs over time, assessing its durability and its behavior in different moisture conditions. They will also investigate other challenging waste streams, such as plastics or toxic materials, that can be transformed into fungi-based materials for more sustainable construction.
Published in journal: Scientific Reports
Title: Valorisation of waste OSB into sustainable mycelium-based composites for insulation applications
Authors: Joni Wildman, Valeria Cascione, Daniel Henk, Pete Walker, and Andrew Shea
Source/Credit: University of Bath
Edited by: Scientific Frontline
Reference Number: beng051926_01
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