Fungal biocomposites: How process engineering affects composition and properties?

Recent ecological, environmental and sustainability concerns have urged a need for innovative materials with diverse applications to replace conventional synthetic materials. An emerging design in biodegradable and naturally sourced materials is fungal mycelium-based biocomposites. This review describes the process engineering aspects that affect the composition and properties of fungal biocomposites. Bioreactor designs such as tray, packed-bed and milliliter reactors, influence of mycelium growth conditions and strategies for controlling mycelium microenvironment are discussed to allow optimal process development. Furthermore, the key role of techno-economic evaluation to analyze process costs and benefits at the early stages of biocomposite development is described to improve process viability. Moreover, the significance of the life cycle assessment approach to quantify and optimize the environmental impact of biocomposites technology and guide its sustainable scale-up and applications is highlighted. Finally, concluding remarks on the outlook on fungal biocomposites for improved design under the sustainable production model are presented.