Abstract
Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae composting is a promising waste treatment that can add value to available biodegradable waste. However, substrates that have low protein content and contain complex molecules (e.g. fruit peels) are not easily degraded by the larvae. This study evaluated the impact on the BSF larvae composting efficiency of co-composting different mixtures of banana and orange peels with incremental increase of fish waste. Mixtures (in total 50 distinct mixtures) of varying proportions of banana peels, orange peels and fish waste were evaluated. BFSL fed on orange peel and banana peel mixtures, containing no fish waste, resulted in a lower biomass conversion efficiency (4.5% ± 1.3) on a volatile solids (VS) basis (BCEvs). Co-composting the fruit peels with fish waste increased the biomass conversion efficiency and the highest BCEvs (25%) was attained when 75% fish waste was included. However, the BCEvs varied greatly (18.0% ± 5.8), likely due to varying fish waste composition. A 25% fish waste inclusion resulted in more than twice as high BCEvs (12.3% ± 2.1) compared to when no fish waste was included. As the conversion efficiency variance increased with increasing fish waste inclusion, it was recommended to keep the inclusions of the fish waste to around 25% of the total mixture, in order to increase the reliability of the BSF larvae composting efficiency.
Highlights
Municipal solid waste generation was estimated to be 2 billion tons in 2016 and has been projected to increase to 3.4 billion tons by 2050 if the current waste generation rate continues (Kaza et al 2018)
black solider fly (BSF) larvae did not survive in sticky, fat-rich fish waste and BSF larvae composting of pure and mixed banana and orange peel mixtures resulted in lower final larval weights and BCEvs
Combining fish waste with fruit waste increased BCEvs, to up to 25% with 75% fish waste (12% protein addition) in the substrate mixture
Summary
Municipal solid waste generation was estimated to be 2 billion tons in 2016 and has been projected to increase to 3.4 billion tons by 2050 if the current waste generation rate continues (Kaza et al 2018). 93% of waste generated in most low-income countries (mostly containing > 50% biodegradable waste) end up being burned or dumped on roadsides or open land, or in waterways (Kaza et al 2018). Other fractions, such as plastics and metals, are collected by the informal sector for recycling (Linzner and Lange, 2013). The treatment residues can be used as an organic fertiliser (Kawasaki et al, 2020) or as a raw material in other processes, such as feedstock in anaerobic digestion (Lalander et al 2018)
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