# Using Waste in Producing Bio-Composite Mycelium Bricks
## 2 Materials and Method  
The binder in the produced bricks is from mycelium. The materials used for the development of mycelium are rice and sugarcane molasses (SCM). The matrix that the mycelium binds are the substrates RB, SD, and CH. The RB, SD, and CH contains nutrients that achieve mycelium growth in the matrix. As a control specimen, clay (C) brick was also produced, which are common building materials. Seen in Table 1 are the types of specimens and the number of specimens for the compressive and flexural test. The RB design mix contains a ratio of 5:2:1 by mass for C:RB:CH with 350 mL water added to the mix. The SD mix contains a ratio of 5:3:1 by mass for C:SD:CH with 450 mL of water added to this mix. The C mix was designed using conventional brick production with varying water in attaining a workable mix. SCM ingredients were commercially available, while the RB and CH were acquired from local farms and factories and SD was obtained from lumber wastes. In addition, paper, two (2) plastic containers, and airtight wrappers were also gathered. Figure 1a shows the items mentioned. Seen in Figure 1b is the steel brick mold used which was measured to have the dimensions, 200 mm length \(\times\) 90 mm width \(\times\) 60 mm height. The mold comprises of 4 bricks in one production. After creating the bricks with 33 days of incubation, a laboratory oven (kept at 110\({}^{\circ}\) to 115 \({}^{\circ}\)C for not less than 24 h) was used for drying. Drying of the bricks is required to prohibit any further growth of the mycelium. Figure 2 shows the raw ingredients used. For the design mixes, Clay (C) and Coco Husk (CH) remained as the constant ingredient for the substrate in the four design mixes with agricultural wastes. Sugar Cane Molasses (SCM) was utilized to act as the mycelium in serum form for the researchers to securely handle and later add the mycelium to the substrate mixes. An immensely common agricultural food waste in the Philippines, Rice Bran (RB) can be easily obtained from local farms and gardens in the country. RB was employed as a substrate material with the intention of obtaining a faster rate of growth in the material and acted both as an additional filler material and stabilizer for the substrate. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Specimen Mix Design** & \begin{tabular}{c} **CxCH** \\ **by Mass** \\ \end{tabular} & **Added Water (mL)** & **Mycelium Serum** & \
\begin{tabular}{c} **Number of Specimens** \\ **for Compressive Tests** \\ \end{tabular} &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Number of Specimens** \\ **for Fleural Tests** \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline Rice Bran bricks (RB) & 5:2:1 & 350 & Without & 4 & 4 \\ Rice Bran with mycelium bricks (RBM) & 5:2:1 & 350 & With & 4 & 4 \\ Sawdust bricks (SD) & 5:3:1 & 450 & Without & 4 & 4 \\ Sawdust with mycelium bricks (SDM) & 5:3:1 & 450 & With & 4 & 4 \\ Clay Bricks (C) & 5:0.0 & Variable & Without & 4 & 4 \\ Clay with mycelium bricks (CM) & 5:0.0 & Variable & With & 4 & 4 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Composition and number of specimens. The researchers arranged substrate design mix based on material availability and from the waste substrates utilized by [PERSON] et al. (2017) for mycelium growth [11]. Mass was utilized as the basis for the design mix ratio. Sieve no. 150 \(\upmu\)m was used to achieve the particle size of SD and CH. Water used in all substrate mixes is distilled water. As seen in Figure 3c, the agricultural wastes were mixed together manually to form the substrate. Afterwards, the mycelium serum was added to the main substrate design mix, as observed in Figure 3d. One tablespoon of mycelium serum for one kilogram of ingredients was used for the mycelium serum-substrate ratio. After mixing, the mycelium bricks placed in mold are stored inside a room with no sunlight at a constant temperature for a period of twenty-five (25) days incubation as seen in Figure 3e. During this incubation period, the weight of the bricks specimens was recorded daily until all the mechanical tests were performed.