WHAT IS MYCOREMEDIATION? 

Simply put, mycoremdiation is about using fungi to decontaminate the environment, utilising the natural way in which mycelium breaks down materials, to filter out or decompose toxins in the environment. Fungi have been proven to be a comparatively cheap, effective and environmentally sound way for helping to remove a wide array of toxins from damaged environments or wastewater and farm run-off.

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

There are several ways that mycoremediation can be implemented, depending on the specific task at hand. Our goal is to develop tailor made, efficient and effective solutions for any given scenario. This involves assessing the site, situation, hydrology, suitable fungal species, and several other factors. 

 

For soil based contaminants, a substrate inoculated with fungal mycelia is mixed with the contaminated soil, whereby the digestive enzymes excreted by the fungi break down the target contaminants into a less toxic form.

 

For water based contaminants, such as farm run off, grey water systems and other contaminated liquids, a 'fungal filter' can be built for the contaminated water to pass through. The physical structure of the mycelium itself forms a filter on a microscopic scale - but it is more than just a filter - because it is alive, and actively excreting enzymes which break down toxic products, in addition to filtering the water at the same time. 

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REGISTERING YOUR INTEREST

If you have an environmental challenge which you think could benefit from mycoremediation, please do not hesitate to contact us and see what we can do. We are currently partnering with several research institutes and funding is potentially available for some projects. We would love to hear from you. 

 

This project is led and facilitated by Barton Acres (BSc, MPlan)