APR 13

The folks at Ecovative Design have spun out two interesting materials, both of which are made in the same way. According to the company’s website, the two founders “were fascinated by mushrooms growing on wood chips, and observing how the fungal mycelium strongly bonded the wood chips together.”

In other words, they make materials by growing fungus in various types of discarded agricultural waste, such as husks, hulls, and other things that are largely made out of lignin – a complex polymer that gives fibrous strength to plants. The fungus digests the lignin, resulting in a (presumably gooey or wet) mixture which can be poured into a mold and dried out in shapes.

Ecovative currently makes two products: “Greensulate” (for insulation) and “Acorn” (for packaging). The insulation seems somewhat unimpressive. The insulating capacity of a piece of insulation is measured by its R-value. Greensulate has an R-value of 3, as opposed to materials such as polyurethane and polystyrene - which are bad for the environment, but have R-values of around 6 or 7.

And honestly, even if the R-value were higher, I think a lot of people would be skeptical about using an experimental material for insulation. Insulation is really important – it keeps you warm, keeps you cool and, most importantly, keeps your bills low. I’m not sure I’d want to mess around with an experimental new bio-based material.

What I often don’t care about, though, is packaging; especially when I receive items with way more of it than they require. I therefore think that Acorn is a great idea. It’s a great use for otherwise useless waste, and – unlike syrofoam – won’t stay in the ground for a millennium if you throw it away.

Via Green Inc.

Comments (14)

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smaller R-value not such a big problem
written by chris reeve, April 13, 2009

I shouldn't be so quick to discredit this material on the basis that it is new and the insulating efficiency is maybe not quite as good. If the cost is lower, which I don't see why it shouldn't be if energy and labour costs are low, then simply double the insulation thickness. They claim you only need 15% more. I do wonder though what what would happen to it if it got damp.

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written by Magnulus, April 13, 2009

Yeah, my big question about all of this is also "What if it gets damp?" Because that sounds like a recipe for disaster. While it wouldn't be as much of an issue in the Acorn products, it would certainly not be good to have things growing in your walls.

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Fungal roof syndrome
written by Mustafa, April 14, 2009

This material must be made biologically inert before it is installed in a dwelling. Failure to do so leaves the manufacturer open to legal action claiming compensation for health problems caused by fungal spores.

I know that the manufacturer says that the material has been treated, but has it been treated against secondary and tertiary fungal re-infestations? I doubt it very much.

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Answers to your questions/concerns
written by Sam, April 14, 2009

Hi, this is Sam from Ecovative Design.

Greensulate™ has been tested for water sorption and retention after partial immersion to the specifications in ASTM C1154. After a full week partially underwater the material will absorb less than 7% of its mass and maintain structural integrity. Therefore this natural composite does not require a sealant. The agricultural byproducts, such as rice hulls, are hydrophobic which makes the material non-fickin and prevents full water absorption. The vapor transmission properties are presently being tested to ASTM E98.

Basically, it's like the 2x4's that are in your walls. If it gets a little wet and dries out, it's fine. If you house floods and it stays soaking wet for a long time, then it will rot.

The process to produce Greensulate™ requires NO spores. At the end of our process, the fungal tissue is killed, so there is no chance of mushrooms sprouting or spores being created.

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Perfect packing foam replacment
written by Todd, April 14, 2009

I'd sure like to see Acorn replacing the packing foam from one of the major PC manufacturers.

And those annoying peanuts, definately.

I'm confused by Sam's comment about the insulation material being like a 2x4. With compressive and flexural numbers of 150 and 50psi respectively, you can not tell me this material has any real structural application. It's insulation, fragile, non-structural, low R-value insualtion without even a radiant barrier built in ?

Ureathane doesn't have to be bad for the enviornment, and the better it is for the environment the better an insulator it is.

Sam, you guys should try to get some argone bubbles in your product, maybe that would help with the R-value some.

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Mushrooms!
written by Laurie, April 14, 2009

We wrote about this earlier, too. Interesting post and feedback! Thanks for shedding some more light into it.

http://ecoki.com/greensulate-evocative-designs/

Laurie
ecoki.com

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written by Sam, April 15, 2009

Todd: To clarify, I was making an analogy to wood 2x4's in terms of biodegradability. Although wood and Greensulate™ are biodegradable, they won't break down in your walls if your home is properly constructed. Greensulate™ is fairly structural, and can be used for SIP construction, but it certainly does not compare to 2x4's in terms of strength.

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What we should do is;
written by Rachel, April 16, 2009

Forget about this idea, as you can see there's alot of problems with it...
But one of my main question and concern is; how will this affect the people who are allergic to fungus?

In my eyes this isn't really such a good idea, we should throw it out. Because really, 1)we shouldn't screw with new kinds of insulation 2)what happens if it get's wet? that's bad... 3)people could have a terrible allergic reactions to this new product

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written by hampers, October 30, 2009

"... unlike syrofoam – won’t stay in the ground for a millennium if you throw it away..." Nature really didn't stop to amuse us. This natural way of growing fungus which resulted to a useful material is one proof.

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