Performance of Larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) in the Bioconversion Process of Brewery Waste and Insect Farming (Ephestia Kuehniella)

This work aimed to evaluate the performance of black soldier fly larvae - Hermetia illucens (BSFL) in the bioconversion process of waste resulting from beer production and insect farming (Ephestia kuehniella). The different treatments were defined based on different brewing residue concentrations added to flour residue from insect farming: 0% (100% residue from insect farming), 25% (75% residue from insect farming and 25% brewing residue), 50% (50% insect farming residue and 50% brewing residue), and 75% treatment (25% insect farming residue and 75% brewing residue). Larval performance (larval and pupal viability), bioconversion development (biomass gain, biomass yield, bioconversion efficiency, substrate reduction, and bioconversion rate), and BSFL nutritional quality (total carbohydrates, mineral matter, crude fat, protein, and fiber content) were evaluated. Increasing brewing residue concentration in flour residue from E. kuehniella (p ≤ 0.05) improved larval development and bioconversion and BSFL nutritional quality. Thus, it was observed that adding 75% of brewing residue improved (p ≤ 0.05) the overall performance of BSFL regarding mineral matter, crude fiber, crude fat, and crude protein content after bioconversion into larval biomass, showing that the residues resulting from beer production improve the nutritional quality of the flour residue (E. kuehniella), which would enable the appropriate joint disposal of these two residues.

Transforming brewery and insect farming waste into larval biomass with high protein and lipid content for animal feed.