TY - JOUR

T1 - An automated, modular system for organic waste utilization using Hermetia illucens larvae

T2 - Design, sustainability, and economics

AU - Pahmeyer, Maximilian Julius

AU - Siddiqui, Shahida Anusha

AU - Pleissner, Daniel

AU - Gołaszewski, Janusz

AU - Heinz, Volker

AU - Smetana, Sergiy

N1 - This research is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in the frame of FACCE-SURPLUS/FACCE-JPI project UpWaste, grant numbers 031B0934A and 031B0934B, and by the National (Polish) Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR) (Project FACCE SURPLUS/III/UpWaste/02/2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors

PY - 2022/12/15

Y1 - 2022/12/15

N2 - Large amounts of food are wasted, and valuable contents are not utilized completely. Processing such wastes into biomass of defined composition is possible using insects. However, automation and decentralization of insect-based processes are necessary for certain applications. This study presents a modular design for rearing larvae of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens. A life cycle and economic assessment are carried out to check whether the process may be viable. A sales price of 3.55 € per kg of the product would make it profitable within five years. Production of 1 kg of dried larvae would be associated with 2.77 kg CO2 eq emitted, 55.24 MJ of non-renewable energy use, and occupation of 0.68 m2 of organic arable land. Per kg protein, the insect biomass appears more sustainable than database benchmarks. These results indicate that even small-scale insect production processes have sustainability benefits when using food waste.

AB - Large amounts of food are wasted, and valuable contents are not utilized completely. Processing such wastes into biomass of defined composition is possible using insects. However, automation and decentralization of insect-based processes are necessary for certain applications. This study presents a modular design for rearing larvae of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens. A life cycle and economic assessment are carried out to check whether the process may be viable. A sales price of 3.55 € per kg of the product would make it profitable within five years. Production of 1 kg of dried larvae would be associated with 2.77 kg CO2 eq emitted, 55.24 MJ of non-renewable energy use, and occupation of 0.68 m2 of organic arable land. Per kg protein, the insect biomass appears more sustainable than database benchmarks. These results indicate that even small-scale insect production processes have sustainability benefits when using food waste.

KW - Insects

KW - Waste processing

KW - Food waste

KW - Modular technology

KW - Biology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140806385&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134727

DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134727

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 379

JO - Journal of Cleaner Production

JF - Journal of Cleaner Production

SN - 0959-6526

IS - Part 2

M1 - 134727

ER -