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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Cotton Production and Processing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294864
Title: Evaluation of Mycelium Based Acoustic Absorbers Grown on Select Agricultural Byproduct Substrates

Author
item Pelletier, Mathew
item Holt, Gregory
item Wanjura, John
item MCINTYRE, GAVIN - Ecovative Design, Llc
item BAYER, EBEN - Ecovative Design, Llc

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/5/2013
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This research examines the use of a novel new renewable resource in acoustic absorption applications. The material under test is based on the fruiting body of fungi, a mushroom, in the phylum of Basidiomycetes, which are grown on semi-hydrophobic substrates such as cotton byproducts, leaves, sticks and cotton burs and other low cost agricultural byproducts such as switchgrass, rice straw, sorghum stalks, flax shive, kenaf and hemp. The testing of the material for use in acoustics utilized an impedance tube and measured the standing wave ratios in accordance to ISO standard 10534-1. The results of the study indicate the mycelium based boards provided a significant performance improvement in comparison to the absorption provided by a standard foam insulation board and provides improvements at the key automotive road noise frequency of 1000Hz. Further advantages provided by this new material are that it can be produced economically in comparison to the traditional petroleum based foams and is biodegradable when the product is disposed of at its end-of-life use.