Patent Application
20230342794
The present invention relates to agriculturally produced building materials, foods, and medicines and, more particularly, to methods and an apparatus for adaptive, integrated mycotecture for rapid deployment and setup. The methods are tripartite in nature and are tunable.
Mushrooms grow quickly on agricultural waste (agriwaste) without sunlight or extensive irrigation, making nutritious, high-protein, high nutrition foods. Alternatively and depending on species of mushroom and post-harvest processing, powder for brewed drinks and/or medicinal suspensions, salves, and tinctures are achieved starting from a common fundamental process. Mycelium, the vegetative form of fungi also seen as the “root system” of mushrooms having rootlike branching hyphae that consume lignocellulosic biomass, is the organism that produces mushrooms in a stage called “fruiting”. Mycelium secretes enzymes that digest their food and bond with the substrate at a cellular level, creating an organic binder. Some species of mycelium have also been shown to be useful for bioremediation of oil spills, toxic chemicals, acidic, basic and even radioactive waste, and for quickly breaking down plastics such as polyester polyurethane.
International markets exist, and global demand is growing, for mushroom-based foods (mycofoods) and medicines across an increasing variety of species. Mycofoods may be used to address the ever-increasing problem of malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Malnutrition-related diseases increase entirely preventable healthcare costs that span the entire lifetime of those malnutritioned at youth, causing socio-economic losses and needlessly lower the region's gross domestic product. The problem of malnutrition is exacerbated by homelessness.
Mycofoods are nutritional powerhouses already shown capable of being grown on limited square footage using up to two orders of magnitude less water, energy, and time than beef or corn of similar nutritional value (by weight post-dehydration). Mushrooms have a nutritional value that some consider qualifies mushrooms as (super)foods. For example, an oyster mushroom uses 3 L water to produce a gram of protein. A serving of oyster mushroom provides 0.4 g fat, 6.5 g carbohydrates, 2.3 g fiber, and 3.3 g protein for 43 calories. In contrast, ground beef uses 52 L water to produce a gram of protein. A serving of ground beef provides 17.4 g fat, no carbohydrates or fiber, and 27 g protein for 272 calories. Also, important benefits arise from the fact that mushrooms create edible biomass much faster than animals (oyster mushrooms for instance fruit within 21 days and within 3 cycles can create an equal wet weight of edible mushroom as the starting weight of the substrate). Chickpeas and rice require even more water to produce a gram of protein, at 114 L and 79 L of water per gram of protein, respectively. The prior art is replete with research on the nutritional value of mushrooms. Popović, et al. (“The effect of multiple nutrients on plasma parathyroid hormone level in healthy individuals”, International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2019, Vol. 70, No. 5, pp. 638-644) included mushrooms in a study of Plasma parathyroid (PTH) levels in healthy adults and found that there is a positive relationship between diets with mushrooms and plasma PTH levels. Yahia, et al. (“Identification of phenolic compounds by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in seventeen species of wild mushrooms in Central Mexico and determination of their antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds”, Food Chemistry, 1 Jul. 2017, Vol. 226, pp. 14-22) breaks down 17 different species of wild mushrooms in search of phenolic compounds to assess their antioxidant properties. Sande, et al. (“Edible mushrooms as a ubiquitous source of essential fatty acids”, Food Research International, 2019, 125, 108524) reports on the use of mushrooms as a source of essential fatty acids.
Mushrooms have also been known for other uses, such as the use of ember fungus to transport fire. Mushrooms may also be used as a source of enzymes, for example to remove stains, and may be a source of components for cosmetics, as well as medicinal preparations, particularly prevalent in the practices of many traditions in Eastern medicine as well as modern nutrition-based wellness protocols.
Concurrently, “mycotecture”, a fast-emerging suite of processes, produces inexpensive, high-performance materials for housing, packaging, and insulation, with edible mushrooms being a natural byproduct of these processes. Self-sustaining or even “self-reproducing” shelter construction and food-production infrastructure is of general interest to all geographic regions. Ecovative and a handful of similar US, European, and New Zealand companies involved in mycotecture are solely focused on materials production and scaling up mushroom growth that is not ideal for food production. For example, a New Zealand startup is focused on producing mycotecture packaging material replacements for Styrofoam without food production. Even so, ice boxes and coolers are currently largely made of plastic-based material which is not environmentally friendly and is difficult to dispose of at the end of its useful life. Mycelium composites have been evaluated by Elise Elsacker, Simon Vandelook, Joost Brancart, Eveline Peeters, and Lars De Laet: “Mechanical, physical and chemical characterisation of mycelium-based composites with different types of lignocellulosic substrates” (2019), PLOS ONE; and by Mitchell Jones, Andreas Mautner, StefanoLuenco, Alexander Bismarck: “Engineered mycelium composite construction materials from fungal biorefineries: A critical review” (2020), Materials & Design Volume 18.
To date, mycofood production, mycotecture, and any related products and industries have been independently developed without optimizing interrelated processes. One-off, single-end point applications such as mushroom production only or materials production only have been shown before. The impact on or benefit to the environment has also not been interactively managed or iteratively optimized using available blockchain-backed real-time data collection to inform process management.
As can be seen, there is a need for a multifaceted approach to managing interrelated mycelium-based intermediate and final products, as well as their methods of production and end uses.
The methods and technology disclosed here represent a significant departure from prior work in both approach and function.
In one aspect of the present invention, a data collection and analysis method operative to align data across processes and products comprises collecting data in real time; mapping the data to a matrix between function and data points; and multiplexing the data.
In another aspect of the present invention, an integrated manufacturing process of a plurality of intermediate and final products from mycelium comprises collecting data from the system at intervals; analyzing the data; iteratively optimizing the manufacturing process from the processed data; and generating environmental certifications from the processed data.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, an adaptive, unified mycotecture platform in conjunction with a digital recording and analysis system operative to monitor and iteratively optimize growth, harvest, packaging, quality control, and payment comprises at least one manufacturing facility having a growing section, a storage section, and a manufacturing section, the facility having one or more components selected from the group consisting of sensors, rapid-deploy scaffolding, a reconfigurable press, a brick extractor, a mixer, an autoclave, a laboratory, bar coding, and an interactive software application.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description, and claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
As used herein, the term “mycotecture” refers to building, packaging, and insulative materials, as well as potentially dual-purpose materials including edible or medicinal materials, comprising cultivated mycelium, including construction materials for housing, packaging, and insulation, and architectural structures constructed therefrom. The mycotecture methods and apparatus described herein are sometimes referred to as BioHab or BioFab self-sustaining self-reproducing housing or as MycoHab (the prefix myco- is intended to indicate the common origin in fungi for the variety of end products).
Broadly, one embodiment of the present invention is a novel, adaptive, generalizable to climate, agricultural, and geological condition, unified mycotecture platform applied in conjunction with a digital recording and analysis system. The system is operative to monitor and iteratively adapt/optimize growth, harvest, packaging, quality control, and documentation for payment for ecosystems services. The platform may utilize compatible equipment, including Internet of Things sensors; inflatables as rapid-deploy scaffolding; a reconfigurable press for variable geometry materials; and a brick extractor. Embodiments of the present invention include an integrated workflow process for substrate pasteurization, spawn production, and heat delivery to allow form, stiffness, strength, and shape selection via an iterative, digitally-informed optimization of material properties process.
The present subject matter marks a continuation of the disclosure of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/648,105, filed Jan. 14, 2022, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Mycelium is a substantially infinitely renewable resource. One kg of agriwaste over about 63 days may be converted into 1 kg mushrooms and 1 kg structural material, while binding 1.5 kg carbon equivalent. The structural materials may be considered an “antiplastic”, replacing non-biodegradable products currently in use.
With the ability to produce nutritious, delicious food in a process that also creates structurally sound and sound and heat insulative construction composite materials in an integrated workflow with modular and adaptive aspects, one may recognize the central role of the fungus and the tri-partite by product dynamics where each apex of a “mycotriangle” is the byproduct of the other two apexes (see
The system enables real-time data collection, utilizing bar coding and an interactive software application (app). For example, each batch of mycelium may be assigned a unique identification (ID). The app may be editable and self-propagating. The app may have any combination of features selected from the group consisting of: a Location Based Service; Offline Functionality; a Time Stamp; Photo/Video Capture; e-Signature; a Role-based View; Alerting/Notification; quick response (QR) Code Scanning; optical character recognition (OCR); near field communication (NFC) Reading (i.e., contactless); and Internet of Things (IoT) integration.
Optionally, measurements of physicochemical properties such as relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, pH, temperature, air quality and heat flows (e.g., using Forward Looking Infrared [FLIR] enabled sensors) can be used to annotate processes for additional insight generation into potential for improvement and understanding some of the fundamental physical, biological, and chemical processes at play during all phases of the operation.
Data collected according to an embodiment of the present invention may be stored utilizing distributed ledger technology, i.e., blockchain, making the data traceable and verifiable, producing a chain of evidence, establishing trust, e.g., in the safety of the food, and supporting operational excellence, e.g., with respect to certifications, while collecting the minimum data necessary to achieve these goals. The system is adaptive and conducive to rapid scaleup.
The present subject matter allows the operator for the first time to control in-situ production of different products determined by the results of basic if/then logic decisions responsive to the physicochemical and climate conditions, some of which may be molecular and mushroom species-specific, including but not limited to pH, temperature, light, applied heat, and pressure determining the structural and other physicochemical parameters intermediate and final products.
Key to this is the tri-partite “MycoTriangle” approach allowing a variety of endpoints as byproducts of each other including: food, drink, and medicine; bricks, composites, packaging, fire-retardant/sound attenuating insulation; and the digital documentation of these processes allows for the establishment of environmental stewardship products such as carbon credits and payments for ecosystem services integrated into a comprehensive, carbon negative system. Additional applications include mycoremediation such as water and industrial waste treatment, activated biochar functionalized with mycelium tea, mycopesticides, textiles and leather replacements.
Mycelium tea is produced as a byproduct of compressed mycotecture bricks. Without being bound by theory, in combination with biochar (a pyrolyzer byproduct), mycelium tea is believed to be the world's best fertilizer, especially coveted by high-value crop farmers such as those involved in cannabis production.
In some embodiments, a methodology described herein enables alignment among data, processes, products, and operational excellence. This is the first data collection methodology managing products from three completely separate industries simultaneously: Agriculture (Mushroom), Construction (Building Materials), and Financial Services (Carbon Credit). Taking into consideration the data acceptance standards and requirements from all three industries, the inventive method makes sure that the data collected is accepted by and satisfies all three disciplines. This greatly reduces the cost for the business to apply for certification and qualification.
The method establishes a living process core model driven by data to provide decision makers with an end-to-end view of the process from the data perspective. It demonstrates what control the business has over the processes of making all the products. It also provides insights for the business to constantly improve the processes, making the business leaner. Due to the clarity of the data relationship, the business may make an evidence-based informed decision on whether collection of certain types of data add value and what disruption, if any, may be caused to other products/processes if selected data collection stops.
The inventive method utilizes data mapping and data multiplexing to ensure decisions made across all product lines are based on a single set of data collected and measured with the same set of protocols and standards. The data mapping methodology also greatly reduces auditing and compliance risk. For example, data mapping enables combination of data related to food safety guidelines and carbon credits into a unitary process. The map is an effective and cost-efficient data solution that allows the business to only collect the data that matters, eliminating collecting meaningless data and wasting resources.
The methodology clearly maps out a matrix between function and data points. The mapping methodology gives the business a deep understanding of the logical relationship among all data points, so that a digital solution may be designed knowing what “core data” must be collected/protected for business continuity and what data have a higher tolerance to disruption. The methodology enables the business to iteratively prioritize development of an app and to invest in an iterative manner. With the guidance of the methodology, the business may develop a minimal viable product which satisfies the needs for productivity improvement and quality assurance.
In some embodiments, (distributed) machine vision and machine olfaction may be used as part of a suite of biosensing and chemosensing mechanisms to feed data in real time into development and optimization models. These models may use “sensor fusion” i.e., combining the output of several, possibly asynchronous measurements across different modalities to inform iterative optimization. For instance: noticing that Reishi mushrooms grow at their fastest rate when the tips are white and start slowing down as the tips change to yellow and darker oranges and browns can be tracked with machine vision, including by collecting periodic pictures or monitoring the colors using webcams, (remotely) operated and read by humans or automation, may be used to determine the optimal time to harvest. Monitoring the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and the emergent scent characteristics using machine olfactors such as, for instance, those described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,140,677 B2 to Mershin et al., is a complementary or alternative approach to same result. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 9,140,677 B2 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The VOC and emergent scent characteristics available from a machine olfactor may be mined for tell-tale signals that correlate to fluctuations in growth speed as determined by machine vision. In this case, the two approaches together may be used to not only ensure fidelity of decisions but also to uncover the underlying mechanisms and response pathways. This approach benefits from timestamping and correlating disparate data streams from various parts of the process into one whole metric that facilitates iterative optimization and real-time decision making, such as what temperature and relative humidity to set, when to harvest, and when to halt growth due to contamination or disease that lead to yield decrements.
Air quality, relative humidity (RH), and temperature (T), as well as air circulation, are monitored and/or maintained for mixing spawn with substrate, spawn inoculation, and fungal genetics work. Homogeneity of temperature and relative humidity, airflow control, and contamination detection all leverage blockchain backed data collection (and vice versa). Air quality measurements using, for instance, a portable, handheld, smartphone-based Volatile Organic Compound sensor connected to the internet (e.g., a smartphone with an integrated thermal camera, such as the FLIR® Cat S61 air quality and heat flow sensor-enabled smartphone, connected wirelessly) may be used to produce actionable data in real-time as conditions in the clean mix room change, alerting the user to the presence of unacceptable Parts Per Million air quality, deviations from appropriate humidity and temperature conditions, and identification of “dead air” spots.
Slabs can be made that may be configured into many types of architecture including prefab housing.
In some embodiments, a cart system is provided for space optimization. Utilizing the cart's wheels, curing, monitoring, and other processes may be accomplished by simply moving the trays around the facility at the different stages of growth, harvesting, and production, limiting waste and facilitating cleaning. While the fruiting body growth on the top of tray contents may be sliced off and sent to processing, the mycelium composite in the bottom part of the tray may be compressed with a large-format (heated) platen press. Trays allow for easy autoclaving.
Taken together, an exemplary site may be designed to maximally leverage the availability of IoT and iterative optimization methods dependent on real-time data collection from a plurality of sources and methods. This allows for dynamic reconfiguration depending on type of operation and conditions, enabling co-location of several species growing on various substrates with minimal cross-contamination. The danger of outside contamination may be lowered by having moveable curtain separators and managing airflows such that spores can be kept in check. Pest infestations may be detected early or altogether avoided by lowering the difficulty in autoclaving and cleaning surfaces, reusable metal trays, and instruments. Coupling these flexible, adaptable, and reconfigurable designs results in efficient manufacturing of prefabricated construction materials beyond bricks, as well as household objects, and consumer products of various form factors. An important aspect of this methodology is the real-time collection of data and its correlation across time, with the eventual yields and material properties achieved. Having the ability to “look back in time” and see what conditions prevailed during the inoculation, colonization, fruiting, harvesting, pressing, and curing steps informs the iterative optimization of parameters by a closed feed-forward loop.
Utilizing even a small fraction of an invasive plant that grows in Namibia, known as encroacher bush, mycelium may be grown with little water and energy to produce an equivalent mass of food and an equivalent mass of construction material, while capturing a little more than twice its mass in CO2 equivalent. Namibia has about 330 million tons of biomass that can be sustainably harvested every 15 years. Using only 0.7% of that amount, or about 2 million tons of biomass, the inventive process can produce 2 million tons of mushrooms and 2 million tons of structural block, sometimes referred to herein as “mycoblock”. The process can be represented by the following formula, in parts by weight:
2 parts biomass+3 parts H2O+O2→2 parts mushroom+2 parts mycoblock+1 part H2O+CO2
The mycoblock captures carbon in an amount of about 60% of the block's weight, a carbon dioxide equivalent of about 22 kg per 10 kg of mycoblock, according to the following equation.
10 kg×60%×3.67 cg CO2e/kg=22 kg CO2e
If a home contains 2000 mycoblocks, the home's construction captures 44 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. In contrast, a concrete block having the same weight stores no carbon and its production produces no food. Both types of blocks exhibit a compression strength of about 26 Mpa. A concrete block has a density of about 2.1 g/m3 whereas a mycoblock has a density of about 0.64 g/cm3, making the mycoblock a much lighter construction material.
Referring now to
Turning to
As shown in Table 1, the overall process provides a wide variety of products, byproducts, and functional advantages spanning several industrial sectors.
Each step of the process has several variables for which data may be collected and analyzed, as shown in Table 2.
The data collection may be optimized by evaluating a matrix of variables with respect to the purposes of collecting data, as seen in Table 3.
An app according to an embodiment of the present invention may be used to collect, track, and analyze these data. A user interface of the app for data collection is shown in
A floor plan of a growing/manufacturing facility utilizing a system according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
A growing tunnel is illustrated in
A cart system 110 that may be used throughout the facility is shown in
The slabs 404 formed in the facility may be configured into a variety of shapes and may be used, for example, in prefab housing 400 as well as other architectural structures. See
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 63/479,452, filed Jan. 11, 2023, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63479452 | Jan 2023 | US | |
| 63137608 | Jan 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17648105 | Jan 2022 | US |
| Child | 18344483 | US |
