Material Selection for Mycelium-Based Composites: A Systematic Review and Opportunities for Chilean Industrial Residues

In response to the health and environmental impacts of particleboard production and use, this research highlights the value of sustainable construction materials. Mycelium-based composites are a promising biobased solution that proposes the substitution of synthetic binders with fungal binders, while valorizing lignocellulosic residues. Therefore, the aim of this study is identifying the most suitable material combinations for mycelium-based composite production using Chilean residues through a systematic literature review. The methodology involved a systematic review of 346 scientific publications from Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, of which 84 were chosen through a PRISMA-based review. Scientific publications permitted us to determine the most frequently used fungal strains, substrates, and additives. Co-occurrence analysis revealed that Pleurotus ostreatus was the predominant fungal strain (35/84, 41.67%), followed by Ganoderma lucidum (23/84, 27.38%) and Trametes versicolor (19/84, 22.62%). Meanwhile, agro-industrial subproducts (30/84, 35.71%) were the most frequently reported substrate, followed by wood subproducts (26/84, 30.95%). Among the additives, wheat bran (14/84, 16.67%) was the most used, followed by calcium sulfate (12/84, 14.29%) and calcium carbonate (11/84, 13.1%). These findings to demonstrate that Chilean forestry (5–7 million ton/year) and agro-industrial residues (4 million ton/year) can be effectively integrated into scalable mycelium-based composites, considering that, for the most part, they are simply burned as biomass. These residues are circular economy, low-impact and alternative sustainable construction materials that reduce the dependence on fossil-derived binders. Moreover, there is the potential to explore other residue additives that do not compete with the food industry (e.g., wheat ban) and are rich in nutrients (e.g., biological sludge) and regulate pH.