Editing Mycelium (section)

==== Environmental impact ====

Researchers have performed [[life-cycle assessment]]s to evaluate the environmental impact of mycelium bio-composites. Life cycle analysis showed the viability of mycelium as a [[carbon sink]] material and as a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials.<ref name="Livne" />  Use of mycelium as a natural adhesive material may provide environmental benefits, as the fungal-based composites that mycelium is used to create are low cost, low emission, and sustainable. These composites also have a wide range of applications and uses, many of which are in industries responsible for significant environmental pollution, like construction and packaging.<ref name="Alemu">{{Cite journal |last1=Alemu |first1=Digafe |last2=Tafesse |first2=Mesfin |last3=Kanti Mondal |first3=Ajoy |date=March 12, 2022 |title=Mycelium-Based Composite: The Future Sustainable Biomaterial |journal=International Journal of Biomaterials |volume=2022 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1155/2022/8401528 |doi-access=free |pmid=35313478 |pmc=8934219 }}</ref>

Modern construction and packaging materials are industrially fabricated, non-recyclable, and pollutive: wood products lead to severe deforestation and weather fluctuation; cement is nonbiodegradable and causes high emissions both in production and demolition. Mycelium appears to be cheaper and more sustainable than its counterparts.<ref name="Alemu" />

Mycelium’s adhesive properties are largely responsible for its diverse array of applications, as it allows them to bind certain substances together. These properties are products of their biological processes, as they secrete corrosive [[Enzyme|enzymes]] that allow them to degrade and colonize organic substrates. During degradation, mycelium develops a dense network of thin strands that fuse together within the organic substrate, creating solid material that can hold multiple substrates together. This self-assembly property of mycelium is quite unique, and allows mycelium to grow on a wide range of organic material, including organic waste.<ref name="Alemu" />