Project
Valorisation of greenhouse lignocellulosic waste into mycelium-based composite materialsGreenhouse vegetable growers generate 110 to 290 tons lignocellulosic residues per hectare per year. Consequently of increasing food demand worldwide, billions of tons of lignocellulosic waste are produced each year. Landfilling is the most widespread management practices implemented in the greenhouse sector. The research for fast and sustainable alternative processes for a better management of lignocellulosic residues, in a circular economy perspective, is one of the greatest challenges of agriculture. Biotechnological treatments of agri-food waste could be considered as an ecological solution to valorize them. For instance, the chemical composition of lignocellulosic residues and the presence of carbon sources, nutrients and moisture in agro-industrial wastes, makes them suitable substrates for the solid state fermentation process operated by white rot fungi. Beside mushroom biomass, the process represents a potential source of enzymes and mycelium composite materials. This project aims to test the hypothesis that white rot fungi growth can be enhanced by co-culture with bacterial assemblage.
