Life cycle assessment of β-glucans extracted from fungal biomass grown by submerged fermentation: Laboratory to pilot scale

Edible and medicinal mushrooms such as Hericium erinaceus are valuable sources of bioactive metabolites with potential health benefits. Rich in β-glucans and polysaccharides, they offer anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties, making them promising feedstocks for nutraceutical food ingredients. This study aimed to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with developing an innovative submerged fermentation technology to produce fungal biomass with a high concentration of pharmaceutical-grade β-glucans. ology: The research utilized Hericium erinaceus as the primary substrate, supplemented with enzymes and sugars, to cultivate fungal biomass within a laboratory-scale aerobic submerged fermentation system, followed by the extraction of β-glucan. The life cycle assessment (LCA) was designed as an initial attributional cradle-to-gate LCA at early development stages (TRL 1-3), transitioning to an attributional cradle-to-grave LCA at later stages (TRL 4-6). The LCA at low TRL aimed to pinpoint environmental impact hotspots, thereby informing decisions on scaling up from TRL 3 (laboratory scale) to TRL 6 (pilot scale). Key impact categories assessed included climate change and freshwater consumption, terrestrial acidification and freshwater eutrophication. Additionally, the IPAT method was applied to estimate environmental impacts under increasing market demand for β-glucans. At laboratory scale, the bioreactor dominated environmental burdens across all impact categories, while at projected pilot scale, downstream processes such as packaging, and PET production dominated. These findings demonstrate that no insurmountable environmental barriers exist to scaling up fungal β-glucan production, provided energy efficiency and sustainable packaging strategies are integrated. • First ex-ante LCA of β-glucan production via submerged fermentation • Lab TRL 1–3 upscaled to pilot TRL 4–6 using Piccinno framework • Bioreactor dominates lab scale; retail and packaging dominate pilot scale • Sensitivity shows robust results to ±10% energy, mass, and time variation • Opportunities for sustainable scale-up through energy and water efficiency