Biological filtration with Ganoderma lucidum mycelium and native plants: the RISD approach to urban water remediation.

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Have you ever imagined that a mushroom could help purify rivers? Students at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the USA have created an innovative system that uses the mycelium of reishi mushrooms to capture toxins in urban water bodies.

The technology works with floating "pods": bases made of mycelium (part of the "roots" of fungi) that support native aquatic plants and create a mini-ecosystem capable of filtering pollutants — without relying on chemicals or electricity.

In the pilot implementation, these modules were launched into a river with a history of pollution, and have already shown that mycelium + plants can "suck up" contaminants as they degrade, while regenerating riverbanks and functioning as small wetlands.

This solution brings hope: if something as simple as mushrooms + plants can help clean water, imagine the impact on cities with polluted rivers. It's worth keeping an eye on—nature may indeed have the answers to challenges created by humans.

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Under the coordination of students and professors from RISD, a floating biofiltration module was developed whose main substrate is the mycelium of Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom). The mycelial base functions as a porous structural medium, supporting native aquatic plants and microbial communities capable of metabolizing or sequestering pollutants in urban water bodies.

In the pilot deployment in the Providence River (RI, USA), floating units anchored to the banks were tested, and over their lifespan, they demonstrated a reduction in contaminants such as metals, nitrates, and altered pH, while simultaneously promoting the revegetation of degraded banks and inducing self-managed micro-wetlands.

The system leverages biological bioremediation processes: mycelium that adsorbs and metabolizes toxic compounds, plant roots that promote oxygenation and microbial habitats, and the controlled decomposition of the mycelial base that returns biomass to the ecosystem. This approach reduces the use of chemicals, consumes zero active electricity, and integrates the involvement of the local community in monitoring and maintenance.

Although still in the prototype phase, the methodology shows great potential for scalability in urban streams, coastal zones, or eutrophic lakes, presenting a vision for low-cost solutions, iterative design, and positive ecological impact. The union between design, fungal biology, and urban ecology marks a significant advance in sustainable water remediation technologies.

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Sources: Floating biofiltration pods made of mycelium - MaterialDistrict BIOPOD: Participatory water remediation – BioInteractive Design Lab RISD BioPods aim to rewild Providence River, purify waterways - The Brown Daily Herald A Team of RISD Biodesign Researchers Is Cleaning Up the Providence River | RISD

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