Valorization of Carrot Pomace into Mycelium-Based Paper for Packaging Applications

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Sustainable Materials Science
• Mycology

Background:

• Mycelium-based materials offer sustainable alternatives to synthetic products.
• Industrial food waste, like carrot pomace, can serve as a cost-effective substrate for fungal biomass production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of using carrot pomace (CP) to cultivate fungal biomass (FB) for mycelium-based paper (MBP) production.
• To characterize the microstructure and mechanical properties of MBP derived from *Aspergillus oryzae* (AO) and *Rhizopus delemar* (RD).

Main Methods:

• Cultivating *A. oryzae* and *R. delemar* on CP in bench-scale bioreactors.
• Processing harvested fungal solids and CP residues into hybrid paper via a wet-laid process.
• Post-treating the paper with glycerol to enhance flexibility and characterizing material properties using SEM and tensile testing.

Main Results:

• Microstructural analysis revealed distinct differences between AO and RD, with AO forming a more interconnected and compact network.
• AO-MBP exhibited higher tensile strength (49 MPa) than RD-MBP (32 MPa), with smaller average pore sizes.
• Glycerol treatment improved elongation at break by 60% for both MBP types, yielding flexible wrapping paper.

Conclusions:

• Carrot pomace is a viable substrate for producing mycelium-based paper with properties comparable to commercial paper.
• The developed MBP demonstrates potential for sustainable packaging applications, supporting a fungal biorefinery concept.
• This research highlights the valorization of food waste into functional biomaterials.