Insect biorefinery: a green approach for conversion of crop residues into biodiesel and protein

As a major lignocellulosic biomass, which represented more than half of the world's agricultural phytomass, crop residues have been considered as feedstock for biofuel production. However, large-scale application of this conventional biofuel process has been facing obstacles from cost efficiency, pretreatment procedure, and secondary pollution. To meet the growing demands for food, feed, and energy as the global population continues to grow, certain kinds of insects, many of which are voracious feeders of organic wastes that may help address environmental, economic, and health issues, have been highlighted as a source of protein and fat.

The biorefinery studied includes initial corn stover degradation by yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.), followed by a second stage that employs black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.), to utilize the residues produced during the first stage. These two insect-based biorefinery yielded 8.50 g of insect biomass with a waste dry mass reduction rate of 51.32%, which resulted in 1.95 g crude grease from larval biomass that produced 1.76 g biodiesel, 6.55 g protein, and 111.59 g biofertilizer. The conversion rate of free fatty acids of crude grease into biodiesel reached 90%. The components of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contained in corn stover hydrolyzed harmoniously, resulting in declines of 45.69, 51.85, and 58.35%, respectively. Moreover, fluctuations in lipid, protein, and reducing sugar were also analyzed.

The investigation findings demonstrated that successive co-conversion of corn stover by insects possessing different feeding habits could be an attractive option for efficient utilization of lignocellulosic resources, and represents a potentially valuable solution to crop residues management, rise of global liquid energy, and animal feed demand.