MYcelium based COMposite and mycozYMes production for upgraded lignocellulose material (MYCOMYM)

Research Project, 2023 – 2027

Agri-food waste of lignocellulosic origin, produced on the order of 14 Gt/year, is the most abundant renewable resource on Earth.However, it is considered a major environmental pollutant and a loss of potential energy and material.
Agri-food waste of lignocellulosic origin, produced on the order of 14 Gt/year, is the most abundant renewable resource on Earth. However, it is considered a major environmental pollutant and a loss of potential energy and material. For this reason, interest in the biorefinery concept has been growing in recent decades, and we can use this waste biomass to produce energy, materials, and chemicals. Still, current inefficient use of lignocellulosic biomass creates waste, low-value side streams, and recalcitrant residues, reducing the sustainability of the system. MYCOMYM promotes a new integrated biorefinery approach by using advanced fungal biotechnology to upcycle abundant underutilized lignocellulose biomass to generate innovative biobased materials and industrial relevant enzymes while capturing CO2 during the fungal growth. Basidiomycota fungi, the most efficient natural degraders of biomass, will be used to produce mycozymes that deconstruct or modify the surface of natural fibers. At the same time, fungal mycelia will directly convert lignocellulose substrates to new biocomposite materials, bringing strength and cohesion to the agri-food particles by producing microscopic filaments that form the mycelium, generating a mycelium-based composite. Biocomposite production requires low energy consumption, and the resulting materials are biodegradable, cost-effective, and fully natural and compostable, supporting the transition towards a circular economy.