From fungi to foam

An innovative alternative to Styrofoam might be growing in your backyard. 

A team led by University of Alaska Anchorage researcher Philippe Amstislavski is exploring how mycelium, the root structure of fungi, can be grown into biodegradable materials that hold similar properties to Styrofoam. The innovation has the potential to replace the ubiquitous polystyrene foam, which can create significant plastic waste. 

“Our lab was created to address a public health problem through practical, applied science,” Amstislavski said. “I’ve seen plastic debris and pollution in communities across Alaska. We depend heavily on plastic foams because we need insulation, but once the useful life of those products is over, they just stay.”

Styrofoam is an essential part of life in Alaska, used to insulate homes, ship seafood to market and deliver medicine. But it’s difficult to recycle, especially in Alaska. It can easily break apart, contributing to marine debris and plastic pollution. Its production and transportation also carry a substantial carbon footprint.

Amstislavski’s process offers a biodegradable alternative that requires much less energy to produce. It also minimizes shipping by primarily deploying two Alaska resources: spruce trees killed by spruce beetles, and the mycelium, which is isolated from a polypore fungus obtained in the Alaska forest. 

To produce the foam, spruce wood chips are processed into a fine pulp and mixed with a culture of the mycelium and a surfactant. Air is introduced into the mixture using a process similar to frothing milk with a cappuccino machine, producing a lightweight airy structure. The biofoam is compressed and transferred into molds where it is incubated for about five days. During that time, the mycelium grows throughout the wood fibers and weaves them together into a strong, lightweight material. After drying, the product is suitable for use in shipping or insulation, and it can also be used to create filters by adjusting the mesh size of its fiber networks.

To test the foam in real-world conditions, Amstislavski’s team partnered with the Alaska Center for Coastal Studies to design insulated coolers for transporting seafood and shellfish. They used the facilities at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center to measure the material’s thermal properties, after which Alaska Sea Grant seafood technology specialist Chris Sannito helped to coordinate commercial shipping trials of the coolers across the United States. The mycelium coolers not only matched the performance of conventional Styrofoam, but also kept temperatures below freezing for a longer period of time. 

While the results are promising, scaling production remains the project’s biggest challenge. The research team hopes to turn production of the biofoam into a value-added Alaskan industry, but the state doesn’t currently have the pulping capacity to support that.

“We know we have a great resource that produces excellent material,” Amstislavski said. “What we don’t yet have is the ability to produce those fibers at the scale industry would need.”

Other researchers on Amstislavski’s team include research assistants Devin Louangaphay and Henry Priebe, postdoctoral researcher Alex Ravelo, former student Ginnette Navas Alfaro, and collaborating UAA researcher Jeff Welker. The team is now working with Alaska Native communities, forestry partners and UAA scientists to better understand the foam’s carbon footprint and develop a sustainable manufacturing process.

“I’m excited because this is an opportunity to push Alaska innovation in a direction that actually serves the needs of our local communities,” Amstislavski said.