Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Life Cycle Assessment on the Black Soldier Fly ( Hermetia illucens L.)

Kofi Armah Boakye-Yiadom, Alessio Ilari and Daniele Duca ()
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Kofi Armah Boakye-Yiadom: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Alessio Ilari: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Daniele Duca: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-29

Abstract: The black soldier fly (BSF) is recognised as a valuable insect for mitigating feed and organic waste management challenges. Thus, concerted efforts are being directed toward the promotion of the BSF. Despite the numerous advantages of BSF larvae, there are several critical environmental aspects, particularly its global warming potential, that need to be considered before large-scale adoption due to the complexity of the insect’s value chain. The direct assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions from BSF larvae biotreatment is crucial for conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the insect products’ environmental performance. This article reviews the emissions of GHG from BSF larvae bioconversion activities based on different gas sensing techniques while highlighting the factors that influence these emissions. Generally, low gas emissions were reported. However, the influence of various factors influencing emissions remains unclear, especially for nitrous oxide. We also analysed LCA studies on BSFL products while emphasising the uncertainties and variabilities among the studies. The wide variation of impact scores reported in the studies suggests that standardised guidelines should be developed to streamline methodical approaches for impact assessments pertaining to system boundaries, functional units, allocation, and system expansion assumptions. We identified several aspects for future improvements to harmonise studies in order to enhance the comparative assessment of the BSFL products.

Keywords: environmental sustainability; environmental impact; climate change; edible insect; gas sensing; waste biotreatment; bioconversion; insect products (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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