Conversion of Mixtures of Soybean Curd Residue and Kitchen Waste by Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens L.)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The black soldier fly (BSF) is a viable solution for food waste management and can provide a sustainable protein source to feed the growing global population. However, the growth performance of BSF larvae (BSFL) is greatly influenced by the rearing substrate. An imbalanced diet caused by the utilization of single substrate could be solved using a mix of different waste types and formulating a more balanced diet, which would provide a more reasonable nutritious and balanced energy feed for larval growth. This study focused on the effects of different proportions of mixtures of soybean curd residue (SCR) and kitchen waste (KW) on the performance of BSFL. The key findings of this study are: the highest larval biomass (30.32 g fresh and 11.38 g dry mass), bioconversion rate (18.54%) and larval crude lipid (45.91%), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) (2.51) were obtained when BSFL were fed with 30% SCR and 70% KW. ABSTRACT: The production of insect biomass from organic waste is a major challenge in terms of reducing the environmental impacts of waste and maintaining feed and food security. The feasibility of the co-conversion of soybean curd residue (SCR) and kitchen waste (KW) to breed black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) larvae was evaluated so as to enhance biomass conversion efficiency and supply animal feed and allow it to be used in biodiesel production. Co-digestion was found to significantly increase larval yield, bioconversion rate, and bioaccumulation of lipid. Partial least squares regression showed that the conversion of 30% SCR with 70% KW is an appropriate proportion. The appropriate performance parameters of BSF were: survival rate (98.75%), prepupal rate (88.61%), larval biomass (30.32 g fresh and 11.38 g dry mass), bioconversion rate (18.45%), efficiency conversion of ingested food (ECI) (28.30%), and FCR (2.51). Our results show that conversion of mixtures (e.g., SCR with KW) by BSF larvae (BSFL) could play an important role in various organic materials management.