Large-Scale Batch (1 m2) Production and Mechanical Assessment of Mushroom Mycelium Mats

Abstract

The development of sustainable leather materials from mushroom mycelium is considered due to ethical issues in animal leather production and environmental pollution problems. It has been confirmed that mushroom mycelium can form a biofilm, the so-called mycelium mat, resulting in a leather-like texture. Therefore, large-scale production of mycelium mats can be essential in future applications in the leather and fashion industry. In this study, for the production of the mycelium mat, environmental factors, including light, temperature, humidity, and CO₂ levels, are to be controlled, and the height of the solid medium filled in the culture tray was also examined. Batch-wise large-scale production was performed on a large culture tray (1 m²), and suitable culturing conditions for producing mycelium mats were suggested as follows: 27–28 ℃ of the temperature range, 90–95% of the humidity range, and 1100–1200 ppm of the CO₂ level. Large-scale mycelium mats of several different strains of mushrooms were successfully produced. The mechanical properties were measured after dividing it into nine areas to ensure the quality uniformity of the mats produced. This mycelium culture and large-scale production study will be a stepping stone for future research on the continuous and economical production of sustainable leather alternatives.