About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Biological Materials Science
|
| Presentation Title |
An Investigation of 3D Printing Mycelium-Infused Filters for Mycofiltration Applications |
| Author(s) |
Jessica N. Redmond, James A L Gallagher, Ihsan S Elnunu, Steven E Naleway |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Jessica N. Redmond |
| Abstract Scope |
Fungi have largely been investigated for various medicinal advantages, but applications in filtration are underdeveloped. Mycofiltration, the process of treating liquids such as water with fungal tissue (i.e., mycelium), is limited in effectiveness due to a lack of control on the micro and meso scales. Replacing traditional mycofiltration practices with a filter made by 3D printing mycelium-based hydrogels could allow for this control. This project entailed building a custom hydrogel printer, developing a protocol for creating hydrogel media, ensuring uniform inoculation throughout the media, designing an advantageous filter geometry, printing the mycelium-inoculated filters, and performing compression and filtration tests. Results have indicated that mycelium-inoculated filters have a decreasing trend in compressive strength with respect to porosity and show statistical significance in filtration of glass microspheres (i.e., the contaminants). Further development of a 3D printing approach to mycofiltration could allow for the implementation of more effective filtration practices in water systems. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Biomaterials, Other, Additive Manufacturing |