A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Development of a Supply Chain in Biomass Conversion of Agrifood Waste Mediated by Larvae of Hermetia illucens L.: From Rearing to By-Product Exploitation

Eleonora De Santis, Alberto de Iudicibus, Francesca Lecce, Massimiliano De Mei, Francesco Petrazzuolo, Angelo Del Giudice, Monica Carnevale, Francesco Gallucci, Claudio Beni, Alberto Assirelli, Enrico Santangelo () and Silvia Arnone ()
Additional contact information
Eleonora De Santis: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Alberto de Iudicibus: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Francesca Lecce: Department of Sustainability, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy
Massimiliano De Mei: Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy
Francesco Petrazzuolo: Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy
Angelo Del Giudice: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Monica Carnevale: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Francesco Gallucci: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Claudio Beni: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Alberto Assirelli: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Enrico Santangelo: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
Silvia Arnone: Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can convert various organic substrates into high added-value biomass. In addition, the residue can be used as a soil conditioner. Several studies have been conducted on a laboratory scale that may not represent what happens on a prototype scale. Using fruit and vegetable waste as a basic substrate, mixing them with agro-industry by-products (called co-substrates), the Hermes project set up a process on medium (2 kg) and large (10 kg) scales with two different feeding regimes (1.25 g/BSFL and 2 g/BSFL). At the mature stage, larval biomass was separated from frass (the by-product of the larval rearing). The production of larval proteins and fats and the use of frass as soil conditioning were evaluated. The lowest feeding regime (1.25 g/BSFL) provided the best waste valorization. The shift towards higher production scales is not completely linear. The addition of co-substrates to fruit and vegetable waste, as they are provided by the large-scale retail trade, can help to standardize a process as part of an insect farm. The frass recovered from the residue of rearing (on the diet or on the agrifood leftovers) was composted and used in field to grow a processing tomato variety. The addition of composted frass assured a slightly lower yield than synthetic fertilizer but there was no statistically significant difference ( p > 0.10). This suggests that partial replacement of synthetic fertilizer with composted frass has potential. Overall, the work demonstrated that, using a multidisciplinary approach, the interest and the value in building a supply chain based on bioconversion mediated by Hermetia illucens can be emphasized.

Keywords: circular economy; waste reduction; bioconversion; CORS; Hermetia illucens; frass; organic fertilizers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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