Biodegradable materials from fungi mycelium for food packaging applications

• Grant number: 24/08808-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Technology
• Principal Investigator: Henriette Monteiro Cordeiro de Azeredo
• Grantee: Henriette Monteiro Cordeiro de Azeredo
• Host Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Cristiane Sanchez Farinas ; Juliana Silveira do Valle ; Michel Brienzo

Abstract

Global plastic production reaches hundreds of millions of tons annually, with a large portion used for packaging. These packages are generally disposable, with a short lifespan, but persist in the environment, causing remarkable environmental impacts. The replacement of conventional plastics with materials that are both renewable and biodegradable is urgently needed. A promising alternative involves the development of materials from fungal mycelium. The proposal envisions the production of semi-rigid and flexible materials from mycelium. The semi-rigid materials will be mycelium composites with solid substrates (sugarcane bagasse and soybean bran). The flexible materials will be films obtained from the growth of mycelium in liquid medium, and will be subjected to deacetylation and/or cross-linking treatments to understand their individual or combined effects on the properties of the films. The materials will be analyzed in terms of thermal conductivity (composites only), water absorption, compressive strength (composites) or tensile strength (films), water contact angle, UV light absorption capacity, and antioxidant activity. The properties of the composites will be compared to those of reference materials: expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) for the composites and low-density polyethylene for films. (AU)