Fungi to leather: The use of wood-digesting fungi to produce alternative materials.

Abstract

There is an increasing demand for ecofriendly alternative materials. One approach for new material technology may be mycelium-based materials. Mycelium is a complex network of cells formed by fungi, which has been utilized directly used as a material or used to bind composite materials together. This thesis explores multiple approaches to mycelium materials, with a focus on leather-like pure mycelium material produced by liquid incubation of Ganoderma sessile. It was found that layering of the mycelium could increase the thickness and strength of the mycelium sheets.