Comprehensive industry-relevant black soldier fly bioconversion characterisation by a novel chamber system

Area of Science:

• Insect farming
• Biotechnology
• Waste management

Background:

• Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are efficient at converting biowaste into valuable animal feed.
• Optimizing BSFL bioconversion requires understanding complex processes under industrial conditions.
• A dedicated research platform is needed for science and industry to study BSFL bioconversion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, test, and validate industry-relevant respiration chambers for BSFL feeding trials.
• To assess the chambers' ability to measure key bioconversion parameters accurately.
• To evaluate the impact of varied food waste composition on BSFL metabolic processes.

Main Methods:

• Developed open-circuit respiration chambers housing industrial rearing crates.
• Monitored substrate/frass and air temperature, mass change, NH3 and CO2 emissions, and relative humidity.
• Validated chamber design using uniform substrates, uniform food waste, and varied food waste compositions.

Main Results:

• Chamber design demonstrated high reproducibility and comparability with uniform substrates (bioconversion rate <1% variability).
• Varied food waste composition significantly impacted substrate temperature (31.5°C vs 41.8°C) and final larval mass (67mg vs 40mg).
• First systematic assessment of heat generation from heterogeneous food waste in BSFL bioconversion.

Conclusions:

• The validated respiration chambers provide a reliable platform for studying BSFL bioconversion.
• Understanding heat generation from diverse waste streams is critical for optimizing BSFL processes.
• Findings support the development of sustainable and economically viable insect farming practices.