Textiles. Determination of resistance of cellulose-containing textiles to micro-organisms. Soil burial test

In the search for environmentally friendly materials, mycelium composites have been labelled as high potential bio-based alternatives to fossil-based and synthetic materials in various fields. Mycelium-based materials are praised for their biodegradability, however no scientific research nor standard protocols exist to substantiate this claim. This research therefore aims to develop an appropriate experimental methodology as well as to deliver a novel proof of concept of the material’s biodegradability. The applied methodology was adapted from a soil burial test under predefined laboratory conditions and hands-on preliminary experiments. The mycelium composite samples were placed in a nylon netting and then buried in potting soil with a grain size of 2 mm for different time-intervals ranging between one and sixteen weeks. Results showed that mycelium, which acted as the binder, had the tendency to decompose first. A weight loss of 43% was witnessed for inert samples made of the fungal strain Ganoderma resinaceum and hemp fibres after sixteen weeks. The disintegration rate in this method however depended on various parameters which were related to the material’s composition, its production method and the degradation process which involved the used equipment, materials and environmental properties.

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Soil burial test for poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol)-graft-polycaprolactone

Journal of Applied Polymer Science ◽

10.1002/app.21498 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 96 (4) ◽

pp. 1064-1071 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Eun-Soo Park ◽

Hun-Sik Kim ◽

Mal-Nam Kim ◽

Jin-San Yoon

Keyword(s):

Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Soil Burial Test ◽

Soil Burial ◽

Poly Ethylene

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Part II.- Quantitative methods and technique of investigation of the products of metabolism of micro-organisms

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B Containing Papers of a Biological Character (1896-1934) ◽

10.1098/rstb.1931.0012 ◽

1931 ◽

Vol 220 (468-473) ◽

pp. 11-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Determination ◽

Carbon Content ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Chemical Compounds ◽

Introductory Paper ◽

Micro Organisms

At the commencement of this work it was decided, as outlined on p. 7 in the introductory paper in this series, to take as the basis of the investigations the quantitative determination of the types of compounds formed by micro-organisms. Hence it became necessary to devise methods of separating “the products of metabolism arising from glucose into different types of chemical compounds, and of isolating them in a form suitable for the subsequent estimation of their carbon content by combustion. The methods adopted will be described.

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