Potential environmental impact of mycelium composites on African communities.
Building and construction
Building materials
Green building
Life cycle assessment
Sustainable development goals
Sustainable solutions
Journal
Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
Titre abrégé: Sci Rep
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101563288
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
24 May 2024
24 May 2024
Historique:
received:
06
02
2024
accepted:
18
05
2024
medline:
25
5
2024
pubmed:
25
5
2024
entrez:
24
5
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The ecological and economic benefits of mycelium composites offer a promising opportunity for supporting sustainable development in Africa. This study focuses on assessing the environmental impact of mycelium composites for building and construction (MCBs) by conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) in the context of Africa. It is demonstrated that the potential environmental impact of MCBs is substantially influenced by the use and source of electrical power for autoclaves, incubators, and ovens, making the culturing and post-processing phases the major environmental hotspots. The impact of MCB production is also relative to the energy mix of specific countries, being higher in countries that rely on fossil fuel energy (e.g., South Africa) and lower in those that rely more on renewable sources (e.g., Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC). Furthermore, the impact of MCB production is found to be sensitive to travel distance, suggesting that situating production facilities closer to agricultural, agro-industrial, and/or forestry waste sources could be more beneficial than interregional sourcing, for example. It is also demonstrated that MCBs have the potential to be a more ecologically sustainable alternative to some conventional construction materials (e.g., concrete) over an entire life cycle. Based on the insights obtained from this LCA, some recommendations have been proposed to address potential environmental repercussions pre-emptively and proactively: this is particularly important for nations, mainly in the Global South, that exhibit low resilience to climate change due to limited economic resources. Furthermore, with the rapid expansion of mycelium composite technology, there is a need to increase awareness about its potential environmental impact and, ultimately, to mitigate its potential contribution to pressing environmental concerns (e.g., global warming and climate change). Consequently, this study also adds to the existing body of literature on LCA studies, delineating key factors for consideration in future LCA studies and providing guidance for the sustainable establishment and expansion of this technology.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38789584
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-62561-7
pii: 10.1038/s41598-024-62561-7
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
11867Subventions
Organisme : Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
ID : EP/S021728/1
Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s).
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