UAA patents insulation grown from Alaska birch sawdust and a native fungus

A patent granted Aug. 25 covers a biodegradable insulation that can be grown in place, from Alaska birch sawdust and a fungus already living in the state. U.S. Patent 12,716,049 names Philippe Amstislavski, Zhaohui Yang and Maria D. White as inventors and assigns the invention to the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The material uses Irpex lacteus, a saprotrophic fungus present in Alaska, grown through pasteurized sawdust of Alaska birch (Betula neoalaskana) and other forestry byproducts. The patent states that using a local species avoids introducing exotic fungi into fragile Arctic ecosystems.

Testing described in the patent found compressive strength that meets or exceeds Insulfoam expanded polystyrene. Thermal conductivity of dried samples ran 0.05 to 0.07 watts per meter-kelvin, against 0.03 to 0.04 for the polystyrene, and the patent notes that lower is desirable. It is also much heavier: about 220 kilograms per cubic meter against Insulfoam's 16 to 48.

Proposed applications include underlayment for oil and gas pipeline foundations, road underlayment, building insulation and backfill. The patent describes laboratory samples and says nothing about manufacturing. An earlier patent in the family, 10,604,734, issued in 2020 to the same inventors.