Investigation of Mycelium-Miscanthus composites as building insulation material

Abstract

– Good insulation materials have low thermal conductivity which is mainly related with the density of the material. Bio-composite insulation materials contribute to reduce the environmental footprint of buildings. The main goal of this study is to study the effectiveness of a self-growing, bio-composite building insulation material made of Miscanthus x giganteus and the mushroom Mycelium. Different mix proportions of Miscanthus and Mycelium were considered to identify the most suitable mixture to produce a porous composite which has a lower density. Scanning electron microscopy images were used to evaluate the microstructural geometry of the composite material. Thermal conductivity test was conducted on eight composite plates, and the results showed that the thermal conductivity of this new material is between 0.0882 and 0.104 Wm−1K−1. Moreover, other experiments were carried out to characterize the density, compressive strength and water absorption. In addition, fire resistant tests on composite plates with and without render were conducted, and it was found that the composite plates belong to the category EI15 according to the EN13501–2:2003. The initial results were found to be satisfactory to make a sustainable insulation material out of Miscanthus and Mycelium.

Keywords

• Miscanthus
• Mycelium
• Thermal insulation
• Bio-composite