Chitin Extracted from Black Soldier Fly Larvae at Different Growth Stages

The black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia Illucens can grow rapidly and on a wide variety of organic materials, and it is extensively used as a means of disposing of household organic waste. Different phases of the life cycle of BSF larvae (BSFL) are used in this work to extract chitin after the removal of lipids, mineral salts, and proteins. Multiple techniques, such as X-ray diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy, solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹³C ss-NMR) and thermogravimetric analysis, are used to investigate the chemical and physical characteristics of the extracted samples of chitin, which shows a high degree of acetylation (from 78% to 94%). The extracted chitin shows an increase of the thermal stability of 20 °C in the initial stage of life and 35 °C at the end of the life cycle if compared with a commercial standard. Moreover, the extracted chitin shows an increase in the crystallinity degree during the BSFL growth time (from 72% to 78%).