A RECIPE FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Researchers from RMIT and UNSW have recently developed a building material made from mushrooms and rice. A common mushroom, known as the Trametes versicolor fungus, can be bound with agricultural and industrial waste to form lightweight bricks. Scientists used the fungus to bind rice hulls and glass fines and then baked the materials, creating lightweight, strong and fire-resistant bricks that can be used in non-weathering, non-structural and semi-structural construction applications.

The “mycelium composite”, as it has been called, proved to be a safer and more economical alternative to highly flammable petroleum, natural gas-derived synthetic polymers and unprotected engineered woods that are used in insulation, furniture and panelling.

Some of the composites tested were up to 31 times cheaper than extruded polystyrene and particleboard and were less appealing to termites.

The mushroom bricks had a much lower average and peak heat release rate when it came to fire safety. They also released significantly less smoke and CO2, though carbon monoxide levels fluctuated.

“Their widespread use in civil construction would enable better fire safety in buildings,” the researchers concluded.

The bricks are highly sustainable, involving low amounts of energy to produce and having the potential to replace fossil-fuel-derived building products.

About 167 million tonnes of rice hulls are produced globally per year, considered a low-grade agricultural byproduct that is largely discarded as waste. Glass fines also account for 20-29 percent of Australia’s 600,000 tonne annual glass wastage. These bricks could provide a highly economical solution to these wastage problems.