Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
Waste Manag. 2017 Sep;67:315-323. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2017.05.046. Epub 2017 Jun 3.
In order to foster sustainable management of food waste, innovations in food waste valorization technologies are crucial. Black soldier fly (BSF) bioconversion is an emerging technology that can turn food waste into high-protein fish feed through the use of BSF larvae. The conventional method of BSF bioconversion is to feed BSF larvae with food waste directly without any moisture adjustment. However, it was reported that difficulty has been experienced in the separation of the residue (larval excreta and undigested material) from the insect biomass due to excessive moisture. In addition to the residue separation problem, the moisture content of the food waste may also affect the growth and survival aspects of BSF larvae. This study aims to determine the most suitable moisture content of food waste that can improve residue separation as well as evaluate the effects of the moisture content of food waste on larval growth and survival. In this study, pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste with different moisture content (70%, 75% and 80%) was fed to BSF larvae in a temperature-controlled rotary drum reactor. The results show that the residue can be effectively separated from the insect biomass by sieving using a 2.36mm sieve, for both types of food waste at 70% and 75% moisture content. However, sieving of the residue was not feasible for food waste at 80% moisture content. On the other hand, reduced moisture content of food waste was found to slow down larval growth. Hence, there is a trade-off between the sieving efficiency of the residue and the larval growth rate. Furthermore, the larval survival rate was not affected by the moisture content of food waste. A high larval survival rate of at least 95% was achieved using a temperature-controlled rotary drum reactor for all treatment groups. The study provides valuable insights for the waste management industry on understanding the effects of moisture content when employing BSF bioconversion for food waste recycling.
为了促进食品废物的可持续管理，食品废物增值技术的创新至关重要。黑水虻（BSF）生物转化是一种新兴技术，它可以通过使用 BSF 幼虫将食品废物转化为高蛋白鱼饲料。BSF 生物转化的常规方法是直接用食品废物喂养 BSF 幼虫，而无需进行任何水分调节。然而，据报道，由于水分过多，从昆虫生物量中分离残渣（幼虫粪便和未消化的物质）存在困难。除了残渣分离问题外，食品废物的水分含量也可能影响 BSF 幼虫的生长和生存。本研究旨在确定最适合的食品废物水分含量，以改善残渣分离效果，并评估食品废物水分含量对幼虫生长和生存的影响。在这项研究中，使用预消费和消费后的食品废物，其水分含量（70%、75%和 80%）在温度控制的转鼓式反应器中喂养 BSF 幼虫。结果表明，对于 70%和 75%水分含量的两种类型的食品废物，通过使用 2.36mm 的筛子可以有效地将残渣从昆虫生物量中分离出来。然而，对于水分含量为 80%的食品废物，残渣的筛分不可行。另一方面，发现减少食品废物的水分含量会减缓幼虫的生长速度。因此，残渣的筛分效率和幼虫的生长速度之间存在权衡。此外，幼虫的存活率不受食品废物水分含量的影响。在所有处理组中，使用温度控制的转鼓式反应器都实现了至少 95%的高幼虫存活率。本研究为废物管理行业提供了有价值的见解，了解在使用 BSF 生物转化进行食品废物回收时水分含量的影响。
