MECHANICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF BIOFOAM USING SAWDUST AND TEAK LEAVES AS SUBSTRATES

Abstract

The demand for the mushroom market has increased globally in latest years, and the profusion of mushroom production has given rise to a new alternative: the manufacturing of biofoam. Also, an abundance of agricultural waste could be converted into biodegradable material. This study aims to produce biofoam from oyster mushrooms and biomass in order to evaluate their mechanical and morphological properties. The lignocellulosic biomass substrate, which included teak leaves and sawdust, are essential for the synthesis of biofoam and their properties, including morphological structure was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical properties were tested in term of hardness and springiness. Additionally, water adsorption test also has been analyzed. Both spawn; Pleurotus sajor-caju (grey oyster mushroom) and Pleurotus djamor (pink oyster mushroom) were inoculated at the same amount in sawdust and teak leaves to produce biofoam. Mechanical properties were tested after the mushroom had completely grown to produce foam. It was discovered that teak leaves biofoam is springier than sawdust biofoam in both spawn types, but sawdust biofoam is much harder than teak leaves biofoam. The SEM micrograph revealed the morphology of dense filaments and highly entangled tube-like structures that resembled teak leaves biofoam. Besides, teak leaves biofoam had minimal water absorption compared to sawdust biofoam. Hence, the finding shows the difference in both substrates where this promotes different applications for sawdust and teak leaves as substrates for both spawns.