Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density Characteristics

The research suggests a production method of insulating composites created from lignocellulosic agricultural biomass with fungal mycelium as a binder agent and offers a deeper investigation of their thermophysical properties. Particularly, the samples were meticulously evaluated for density and ther...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maryna Babenko, Yevhen Kononets, Petr Bartos, Ulrich Pont, Frantisek Spalek, Tomas Zoubek, Pavel Kriz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Biomimetics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/9/11/707
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850145067718672384
author Maryna Babenko
Yevhen Kononets
Petr Bartos
Ulrich Pont
Frantisek Spalek
Tomas Zoubek
Pavel Kriz
author_facet Maryna Babenko
Yevhen Kononets
Petr Bartos
Ulrich Pont
Frantisek Spalek
Tomas Zoubek
Pavel Kriz
author_sort Maryna Babenko
collection DOAJ
description The research suggests a production method of insulating composites created from lignocellulosic agricultural biomass with fungal mycelium as a binder agent and offers a deeper investigation of their thermophysical properties. Particularly, the samples were meticulously evaluated for density and thermal conductivity. The function was built on the suggestion by the authors regarding the thermal conductivity-weight ratio indicator. The metric was initially introduced to assess the correlation between these parameters and was also applied to qualitatively evaluate the biocomposite among other commonly used natural insulations. An applied polynomial trend analysis indicated that the most effective densities for the wheat, hemp, and flax, which were 60, 85, and 105 kg·m<sup>−3</sup> respectively. It was determined that the optimal density for wheat and hemp composites corresponded to values of 0.28 and 0.20 W<sup>−1</sup>·kg<sup>−1</sup>·m<sup>4</sup>·K of the coefficient, respectively. These values were superior to those revealed in other common natural insulating materials, such as cork, cotton stalks, hempcrete, timber, etc. As a result, the proposed insulating material may offer numerous opportunities for application in industrial settings of civil engineering.
format Article
id doaj-art-a5d97b3810ad4bbbb6cd21da36826879
institution OA Journals
issn 2313-7673
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Biomimetics
spelling doaj-art-a5d97b3810ad4bbbb6cd21da368268792025-08-20T02:28:11ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732024-11-0191170710.3390/biomimetics9110707Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density CharacteristicsMaryna Babenko0Yevhen Kononets1Petr Bartos2Ulrich Pont3Frantisek Spalek4Tomas Zoubek5Pavel Kriz6Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 2766/11, 810 05 Bratislava, SlovakiaFaculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Studentska 1668, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicFaculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Studentska 1668, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicFaculty of Architecture and Planning, TU Vienna, Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Vienna, AustriaFaculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Studentska 1668, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicFaculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Studentska 1668, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicFaculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Studentska 1668, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicThe research suggests a production method of insulating composites created from lignocellulosic agricultural biomass with fungal mycelium as a binder agent and offers a deeper investigation of their thermophysical properties. Particularly, the samples were meticulously evaluated for density and thermal conductivity. The function was built on the suggestion by the authors regarding the thermal conductivity-weight ratio indicator. The metric was initially introduced to assess the correlation between these parameters and was also applied to qualitatively evaluate the biocomposite among other commonly used natural insulations. An applied polynomial trend analysis indicated that the most effective densities for the wheat, hemp, and flax, which were 60, 85, and 105 kg·m<sup>−3</sup> respectively. It was determined that the optimal density for wheat and hemp composites corresponded to values of 0.28 and 0.20 W<sup>−1</sup>·kg<sup>−1</sup>·m<sup>4</sup>·K of the coefficient, respectively. These values were superior to those revealed in other common natural insulating materials, such as cork, cotton stalks, hempcrete, timber, etc. As a result, the proposed insulating material may offer numerous opportunities for application in industrial settings of civil engineering.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/9/11/707biocompositesagricultural biomassmyceliumthermal characteristicsdensity characteristicsinsulation materials
spellingShingle Maryna Babenko
Yevhen Kononets
Petr Bartos
Ulrich Pont
Frantisek Spalek
Tomas Zoubek
Pavel Kriz
Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density Characteristics
Biomimetics
biocomposites
agricultural biomass
mycelium
thermal characteristics
density characteristics
insulation materials
title Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density Characteristics
title_full Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density Characteristics
title_fullStr Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density Characteristics
title_full_unstemmed Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density Characteristics
title_short Perspectives of Insulating Biodegradable Composites Derived from Agricultural Lignocellulosic Biomass and Fungal Mycelium: A Comprehensive Study of Thermal Conductivity and Density Characteristics
title_sort perspectives of insulating biodegradable composites derived from agricultural lignocellulosic biomass and fungal mycelium a comprehensive study of thermal conductivity and density characteristics
topic biocomposites
agricultural biomass
mycelium
thermal characteristics
density characteristics
insulation materials
url https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/9/11/707
work_keys_str_mv AT marynababenko perspectivesofinsulatingbiodegradablecompositesderivedfromagriculturallignocellulosicbiomassandfungalmyceliumacomprehensivestudyofthermalconductivityanddensitycharacteristics
AT yevhenkononets perspectivesofinsulatingbiodegradablecompositesderivedfromagriculturallignocellulosicbiomassandfungalmyceliumacomprehensivestudyofthermalconductivityanddensitycharacteristics
AT petrbartos perspectivesofinsulatingbiodegradablecompositesderivedfromagriculturallignocellulosicbiomassandfungalmyceliumacomprehensivestudyofthermalconductivityanddensitycharacteristics
AT ulrichpont perspectivesofinsulatingbiodegradablecompositesderivedfromagriculturallignocellulosicbiomassandfungalmyceliumacomprehensivestudyofthermalconductivityanddensitycharacteristics
AT frantisekspalek perspectivesofinsulatingbiodegradablecompositesderivedfromagriculturallignocellulosicbiomassandfungalmyceliumacomprehensivestudyofthermalconductivityanddensitycharacteristics
AT tomaszoubek perspectivesofinsulatingbiodegradablecompositesderivedfromagriculturallignocellulosicbiomassandfungalmyceliumacomprehensivestudyofthermalconductivityanddensitycharacteristics
AT pavelkriz perspectivesofinsulatingbiodegradablecompositesderivedfromagriculturallignocellulosicbiomassandfungalmyceliumacomprehensivestudyofthermalconductivityanddensitycharacteristics