Avaliação da viabilidade de resíduos agroindustriais como substrato para crescimento de micélio fúngico visando obter um material sustentável alternativo ao couro animal

Abstract

The environmental impact that the leather industry generates with the production of toxic and non-toxic waste, especially in the tanning stage, is a current problem. In order to minimize water contamination, soil contamination and the emission of polluting gases generated in leather processing, “ecological leathers” appear. Among them, tissue based on fungal mycelium stands out, which can be produced through solid state fermentation (SSF) using agro-industrial residues. This work aimed to develop an alternative material to animal leather through the use of FES with different agro-industrial residues, followed by vegetable tanning of the produced mycelium. The cultivation of Fungus X was carried out with 6 agro-industrial residues, in 7 different combinations, namely: sawdust, palm fiber, rice husks, sugarcane bagasse, soybean husks with sawdust, sugarcane bagasse with sawdust and corn on the cob with sawdust. The mycelium grown on sawdust substrate with corn cob and sawdust with soybean hulls were the substrates that showed the best results in terms of resistance to traction and tearing and water absorption. Therefore, these substrates were used for the growth of fungal mycelia to carry out a Rotational Central Composite Design (DCCR), to optimize the tanning process, varying the concentration of vegetable tannin and the treatment time. Through the DCCR it was possible to conclude the best conditions of tanning time and concentration of vegetable tannin for tanning that provided the fungal material with physical characteristics similar to animal leather.