Insect Biorefinery

Over 1 million species of insects have been documented to date and the use of insects by humans is not new (food colorants from cochineal insects, honey from bees, silkworm pupae used in animal feed). Insects offer numerous advantages for the development of new biorefineries, such as their rapid reproductive cycles, diversity of growth substrates (lignocellulosic residues, plastics, food waste, byproducts of bio-refineries, etc.) and their biochemical composition (lipids, proteins, frass, chitin, etc.). Insect bio-refineries have the potential to provide a diverse range of products: ingredients for human and animal food (e.g., aquaculture), energy (e.g., biodiesel fuel), biopolymers (e.g., chitin and chitosan), and surfactants. Several species are currently under investigation for that purpose (flying insects, grasshoppers, beetles, and termites). Their utilization in integrated lignocellulosic biorefineries aimed at valorizing lignins is under study. The use of insects and their derivative products in human food and for feed falls under different European regulations which have evolved favourably since 2016. In this context, industrial perspective are offered through huge capitalistic investment and involvement of large corporates, specialization to overcome remaining technological challenges, and syndication of actors in (inter)professional organizations to overcome remaining regulation challenges.