Screening of Effective Media for Black Soldier Fly Larvae Used in Food Waste Treatment

• Main Authors: Chul-Hwan Kim, Kwanyoung Ko, Jongkeun Lee, Haegeun Chung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Society of Environmental Engineers 2020-10-01
• Series: 대한환경공학회지
• Subjects: black soldier fly; food waste; sustainability; useful insects; culture medium
• Online Access: http://jksee.or.kr/journal/view.php?number=4280
• ISSN: 1225-5025; 2383-7810

Objectives:Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are organisms that effectively decompose various types of organic waste including food waste, and food waste treatment using BSFL is attracting attention as a sustainable waste treatment method. However, food waste discharged from Korea has a wide variety of properties, and its high salt concentration limits its treatment by BSFL. Therefore, to increase the efficiency of food waste treatment using BSFL, it is necessary to increase the quality of food waste as a production medium for BSFL. In this study, the ratio of protein and fat was adjusted by adding bean sprouts and wheat brans to food wastes treated at high temperature under vacuum, and whether such medium is suitable for rearing BSFL was investigated. Methods:To improve the medium, the ratio of protein and fat was adjusted to approximately 2:1 by adding bean sprouts and bran residue to food waste. Subsequently, the growth and development rate of BSFL reared on chicken feed, food waste, food waste + bean sprouts, food waste + wheat bran were measured. Also, the decomposition rate of each medium was analyzed. Results and Discussion:The growth rate of BSFL grown on food waste + wheat bran medium was similar to that of BSFL reared on chicken feed. The speed of development at day 7 was also the fastest for BSFL reared with food waste + wheat bran medium and chicken feed. These results suggest that the mixed medium to which wheat bran has been added to food waste has the potential to be used as a commercial medium for BSFL production. The survival rate of BSFL was 89% or higher in all media. Conclusions:When food waste was used alone, BSFL development was poor compared to that in media combined with agricultural by-products such as bean sprouts and wheat bran. Therefore, to use food waste as a rearing medium of BSFL, it is necessary to adjust the ratio of protein and fat by adding various agricultural by-products and reduce salinity. For the improvement of food waste treatment technology using BSFL, mass rearing of useful insects such as BSFL, and promotion of the use of agricultural by-products, additional research is needed to optimize the composition of rearing medium based on food waste.