Life cycle assessment (LCA) of leather-like materials from mycelium: Indonesian case study

Purpose
Mycelium-based leather is a leather-like material composed of filamentous, branched, and fibrous vegetative parts of fungi, specifically fungal mycelium. This study aimed to assess the production process of mycelium-based leather in Indonesia, especially in the Mylea™ manufacturing process, by considering its environmental impact through a life cycle assessment.
Method
The scope of the study starts from the cradle where mycelium is cultivated to the gate of the leather process. A functional unit of 1 m2 natural Mylea™ grade A was used as a reference. The inventory of mycelia as foreground data was gathered from the Indonesian factory with supporting data taken from relevant literature. The infrastructure is not included within the system boundaries. The ISO 14040 and 14044 standards were followed during the analysis. This study used the software OpenLCA 2.02 to carry out the impact assessment and used the Ecoinvent database v3.8. The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was carried out using the CML-IA baseline method with 11 impact categories. A sensitivity and uncertainty analysis were conducted to evaluate the environmental impact.
Results
The finishing process is the main contributor to all the environmental impact categories. The LCIA results revealed that 1 m2 of natural Mylea™ grade A produces 57.15 kg of CO2 eq. Energy usage in the form of electricity consumption is the major cause, contributing 46.53 kg of CO2 eq to the total carbon footprint, followed by cotton at 6.67 kg of CO2 eq and (ethylene–vinyl acetate) EVA glue at 1.03 kg of CO2 eq. The finishing process, which uses cotton fabric, emerged as the primary environmental hotspot, contributing significantly to most impact categories, such as terrestrial ecotoxicity potential (TEP), abiotic depletion potential (ADP), and global warming potential (GWP100a). Alternative energy scenarios, including hydropower and solar energy, were examined, revealing their potential to reduce the environmental impact.
Conclusion
The environmental impacts of mycelium-based leather production were identified in 11 categories. According to the findings, the most critical input parameter is the use of electricity sources. Therefore, several alternative energy sources, such as hydropower and solar photovoltaics, have been proposed to reduce environmental impacts.