Homegrown Mushroom Mycelium Insulation Panels

Wendy Bays wrote:Have you tried adding strands of hemp plant for durability?

She'd make a plaster cast of her client and make a positive form from that. She'd apply a nutrient gel to that form, and leave it in her damp cellar to grow fluffy. When ready, she'd strip that off the form, and take it down to her local stream (she lived in a hilly area) and leave it in the water for the water life to finish off the loose organic material for a few days. She could then dry it and supply her customer.  

Ben Adams wrote:A friend of mine has suggested that this material might possibly be usable for flat-panel speaker applications as well (aka Distributed Mode Loud [DML] speakers).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdkyGDqU7xA -- here's a fairly in-depth explanation & demonstration.

I'm not sure if it's realistic to "speakerize a wall" or anything like that (to work, these need to be as physically isolated in space as possible), but I'm curious if someone is able to slap a $6 exciter on the back of a panel and see what happens.  

It'd just be pretty great to say "I grew my own speakers."

Now if you can only grow a bioluminscent fungal layer on top of all that, you'll have structure, insulation, lighting, and tunes all in one medium.  

Coydon Wallham wrote:
Sounds like background for a new superhero, complete with suit of armor...

Eino Kenttä wrote:Really cool project!

Random idea: For introducing silica particles into the mycelium, one way might be to mix horsetail (Equisetum sp) or another high-silica plant into the substrate. Imagine you could get the mycelium to grow on a 50-50 mix of straw and Equisetum hyemale, for instance. Assuming it's possible (and the fungus doesn't spit it out) you would theoretically end up with a board consisting of minimum 10% silica phytoliths by dry weight (and probably more, since some of the organic material in the substrate will be used up). The phytoliths will also probably be tightly bound within the structure, since the mycelium will have had to wrap each phytolith very tightly to get all the organic material that surrounded it.

me wrote:4) Potential insulation for rocket stove/rocket mass heater heat riser, as lab testing has shown fire-resistance of mycelium at over 1400*F.  Heat resistance is increased by the inclusion of silica in substrate, which becomes suspended in mycelial polymers.  Possibilities substrate ingredients include: rice hulls, common sand, horsetail.

Eino Kenttä wrote:Ah, sorry, missed that... Really look forward to seeing where you go with this project!

Wendy Bays wrote:Have you considered growing easy assemble dome-home panels?

Beau Davidson wrote:

Wendy Bays wrote:Have you tried adding strands of hemp plant for durability?

I haven't!  I haven't really messed around with hemp at all.  It's an interesting and meritorious plant with a rich history of varied use, but it invites a ton of scrutiny in my part of the world.  Especially considering there are so many other more . . . undervalued and overlooked plants with comparable qualities.

I would be interested to hear if others are incorporating hemp or any particular fibrous vegetation into their substrate.

Beau Davidson wrote:...4) Potential insulation for rocket stove/rocket mass heater heat riser, as lab testing has shown fire-resistance of mycelium at over 1400*F.  Heat resistance is increased by the inclusion of silica in substrate, which becomes suspended in mycelial polymers.  Possibilities substrate ingredients include: rice hulls, common sand, horsetail.

Matthew Nistico wrote:

Beau Davidson wrote:

Wendy Bays wrote:Have you tried adding strands of hemp plant for durability?

I haven't!  I haven't really messed around with hemp at all.  It's an interesting and meritorious plant with a rich history of varied use, but it invites a ton of scrutiny in my part of the world.  Especially considering there are so many other more . . . undervalued and overlooked plants with comparable qualities.

I would be interested to hear if others are incorporating hemp or any particular fibrous vegetation into their substrate.

Try nettle.  The fibers are tough and have a long history in textile use, comparable I believe to linen.  The plant is quick and easy to grow in a lot of climate zones.

Beau Davidson wrote:Yes, nettle!  All of my friends in Wichita are trying to eradicate it from their lawns - and I am trying to cultivate it here!  

What a cool idea to incorporate it into mycelium.  I will look into it.  

Reminds me of this: https://permies.com/t/50840/fiber-arts/Nettle-Long-harvesting-stinging-nettle

Thanks!

Matthew Nistico wrote:I guess the proof will be in the pudding, as they say.  Add some fiber content and see how it influences structural rigidity and tensile strength, which in practice I imagine translates to "resistance to being torn."  Not sure how you would measure this, except by working at chunks with your hands and guestimating the material's toughness?

I think adding rice hulls to the substrate mix - even just for low-temp structural insulation - is an interesting and perhaps more feasible idea in order to enhance the fire retardancy value.  Of course, that is easy for me to say - I live in a state that grows rice!  It might represent a considerable expense when manufacturing these panels in Kansas, where the OP lives.

Beau Davidson wrote:

Wendy Bays wrote:Have you considered growing easy assemble dome-home panels?

I had not considered that, specifically, as yet - but it's a great idea.  Could go with molds in the shape of Buckminster Fuller's specification, with some click-together functionality.  Then, after assembly could apply a rendered waterproof membrane to the exterior.  I would love to see this in action!

Wendy Bays wrote:https://www.habitusbuildingsystems.com/. Please look at this website from my friend/Director ‘Habitus Domes’.  I told her about the idea of growing dome home panels and she would like to explore the idea.

Eino Kenttä wrote:If you want fibrous reinforcement that isn't degraded by cellulose-consuming fungi, hair might be a feasible option. Wool was mentioned earlier. Another possibility (for longer, purely structural fibers) might be to reach out to a hair dresser and see if you might be able to tap into that waste stream.

Other random idea: Do you figure the panels could be made waterproof/water resistant by being soaked in something like linseed oil (or other drying oil)? To make a kind of "mycelinoleum"? Could be an option for below-grade insulation, as mentioned before, although the insulation value would probably be reduced due to the oil plugging the pores. For primarily outdoor applications (or if you don't mind the smell - I don't) you could mix the linseed oil with wood tar, to increase rot resistance and further waterproof the material. Should work ok, since this mixture (with the addition of turpentine) is traditional for treating wooden boats. Maybe this could even work as a roofing material in its own right? (Although you would probably need massive quantities of linseed oil and tar to make it waterproof enough for that...)

Wendy Bays wrote:We call them 'Grow Domes' and One dome will yield as much as a over 1100 acres per year, year round in any climate, without pesticides and large farm equipment.  So ALL can have fresh, Organic Rich Food, year round.  Wanting to explore growing the dome panels.  
Sorry but, haven’t figured out the path for submitting comments so, may have put them in the wrong places.  This needs to go to the mycelium panels chat.

My friend/Director ‘Antonia Lau re ‘Habitus’:  https://www.habitusbuildingsystems.com/

Wendy Bays wrote:

Wendy Bays wrote:We call them 'Grow Domes' and One dome will yield as much as a over 1100 acres per year, year round in any climate, without pesticides and large farm equipment.  So ALL can have fresh, Organic Rich Food, year round.  Wanting to explore growing the dome panels.  
Sorry but, haven’t figured out the path for submitting comments so, may have put them in the wrong places.  This needs to go to the mycelium panels chat.

My friend/Director ‘Antonia Lau re ‘Habitus’:  https://www.habitusbuildingsystems.com/

Beau, if you don’t feel that dome home panels, as per the ‘Habitus’ application is up your ally at this time, would you be able to direct me to another mycelium grower who may have an interest in it?

Matthew Nistico wrote:I really like the idea - someone tossed this into the ring, above - of growing these mycelium panels in the form of structural blocks that could be cobbed together like brickwork and plastered over to form complete wall systems.  If arched into a dome, they could even form complete structures, but if left in rectilinear orientations and topped with a conventional roof they would still work well.

That sounds very practical, particularly the rectilinear option, and I think it has a lot of potential.  Building such a structure would conceptually be similar to load-bearing straw bale architecture, which is a well-established technique.  Except that I suspect mycelium blocks might have several advantages.  One that immediately spring to mind is eliminating the need to split bales, or sculpt them to fit into unique applications, like window reveals.  A structural mycelium block could be grown in a custom mold to create almost any desired shape!