Mushrooms can not only eat, some are used in the agricultural industry, some are suitable for the manufacture of dyes, edible packaging for food, furniture and for decorative purposes. Start-up MycoWorks went ahead and started producing high-quality and durable material, the main raw material for which mushrooms also act, more precisely mycelium tinder, from which they also make an excellent leatherette.
The vegetative body of the fungus, mycelium, or simply mycelium, consists of thin filaments, the thickness of which is usually 0.5-1 micrometer. The length of these threads can reach several tens of kilometers, if stretched into a straight line, of course. Researchers who organized MycoWorks found an interesting feature of the mycelium to grow rapidly almost anywhere, so they decided to use this property for their own purposes.
“Mycelium, and the mushrooms themselves, too, are known for their ability to quickly adapt to any conditions, so they can grow anywhere,” says MycoWorks director Phil Ross, “put mycelium into a glass — it starts to grow in a glass, in a rectangular and flat container — it can develop there, eventually taking the form of this container. "
Ross explained that even now, his company's specialists can grow a monolithic plate of mycelium of 2.5 square meters in size in just a couple of weeks, without making any effort to this. The company already produces eco-leather using agricultural by-products and a processed mycelium.
In the video posted on the MycoWorks website, the researchers demonstrate the quality of the material they produce - it is durable, it can withstand loads and tests with water and fire, and its structure resembles fiberboard. In one of the moments of the video, you can see that Phil Ross is sitting in a chair made of myceliums.
“Already now we can organize our production practically in any place without any special problems. If things go well, we hope to increase the momentum soon, ”says the head of MycoWorks.
The article is based on materials .
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