DIGITAL BIOFABRICATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FUNGAL-BASED MATERIALS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY AS A REPLACEMENT FOR PETROLEUM-DERIVED POLYMERS

The search for sustainable, low-carbon, and biodegradable materials is growing to replace petroleum derivatives, commonly used by industry, as well as the restructuring of production methods to adapt to new digital technologies. In this sense, FabLabs, manufacturing and prototyping laboratories, present several possibilities for producing these technologies, based on the concept of circular economy. The objective of this work is to present the production process of biocomposites intended for use in the automotive industry from a low-energy consumption biofabrication method using additives from mining and agricultural waste, as well as the acoustic, physical, and mechanical properties of these materials. After the analyses, this article concludes on the possibilities of integrating biomimicry with design, computational technology, and synthetic biology to produce efficient and environmentally friendly materials at low cost as an alternative for the market, with properties that are competitive to the thermosetting polymers usually adopted.