These mushrooms can replace oil and protect the climate

With mushrooms, many everyday products can be produced climate-friendly

From detergents, to cosmetics and clothing, to plastics - all of this can be produced with the help of mushrooms, while being carbon-neutral. Currently, the production of these products is based on crude oil including climate damaging manufacturing processes. However, a German research institute shows how things are better.

What causes fright and terror in the refrigerator awakens enthusiasm in the Fraunhofer Institute. Molds are welcome here and are even cultivated. The Fraunhofer researchers show new Fementation processes and production processes for industrial production, all of which are based on fungi and do without CO2 emissions.

Can fungus contribute to climate rescue? Fraunhofer researchers show the amazing diversity of mushrooms in the production of everyday goods. (Image: wsf-f / fotolia.com)

Mushrooms become a climate saver?

The laboratories of the Fraunhofer Institute are teeming with mushrooms. In addition to mold fungi, yeast and fire fungi are also found there. The institute shows numerous alternative ways for the climate-friendly production of everyday products - from detergents to plastic packaging. The mushrooms are the focus of the new production lines. "Mushrooms have long been indispensable in the production of antibiotics or in the food industry," commented Professor Dr. Steffen Rupp, Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer IGB, in a press release.

What can be produced with mushrooms??

"With the mushrooms we use, we can produce different chemicals in a CO2-neutral way," says Rupp. Detergents, emulsifiers, cosmetic and pharmaceutical agents, pesticides or even plastics could then be produced from these chemicals.

An example: malic acid

The researchers describe the production process with mushrooms using the example of malic acid. This acid is used for example in jams and juices and improves the shelf life of baked goods. To produce mold fungi of the genus Aspergillus are grown on wood and fed with a sugar mixture. Similar to beer brewing, fermentation processes take place during which the malic acid is produced. In a similar process, so-called biosurfactants can be obtained from smut fungi. These biosurfactants can be used for the production of cleaning agents, crop protection agents, emulsifiers and of cosmetic and pharmaceutical active ingredients.

Environmental protection on several levels

The mushrooms offer an environmentally friendly alternative on several levels. Firstly, the production of chemicals by fungi does not produce CO2 emissions, as is the case with the use of crude oil. On the other hand, there is a virtually inexhaustible pool of funds, as mushrooms are a renewable raw material. These can easily be bred without destroying landscapes and seas. Furthermore, they convince by an amazing variety of products with extensive applications.

From beer to plastic

Another potent player in mushroom production is the yeast fungus. According to the Fraunhofer team, it is not only beer that can be made from yeast fungi, but also long-chain carboxylic acids from which novel plastics can be produced.

The rocky road from the laboratory to mass production

"For bio-based chemicals to be used for industrial applications, manufacturing processes need to be scalable," the researchers write. Here, the bar is set fairly high, because annually about 18 million tons of surfactants are produced. At the moment, the research team still calculates in kilogram dimensions. Solutions for this are already in the works. In a pilot plant optimal growth conditions are to be created in order to be able to produce chemicals on a tonnage scale with the renewable raw materials. (Vb)