From Waste to Feed

Waste products as a source of protein-rich feedstuff


Project details


Funding agency: Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
Period: Nov. 2014 - Nov. 2018
Budget: 158,635 €
Function: PhD student
Link: Grant no. P26444


Description


Facing increasing human population, expansion of large cities and a rising throw-away-society economy, effective waste management has become a major challenge. The recycling and processing of biodegradable material, be it organic waste, wastewater or a renewable resource, is an excellent option for avoiding negative impacts on the environment and climate. Currently, biodegradable wastes can be incinerated in disposed on landfills, anaerobically digested or directly treated at composting plants. However, from a thermodynamic point of view, organic wastes which contain valuable bio-molecules should be used at an energetically higher level: Suppose we were asked to imagine the best possible way to use these sludges. The process should require no energy, no chemicals, not even water. It should be self-contained and not emit a drop of effluent, and aside from some CO2 it should not produce greenhouse gases or offensive odours. The process should operate with the simplicity of a garbage bin, have no moving parts, and require little maintenance. This bioconversion process should be powered by a well established creature. It must have the ability to thrive in the presence of salts, alcohols, ammonia and a variety of food toxins. Upon reaching maturity, this creature should be rigidly regimented by evolution to migrate into a collection vessel for self- harvesting, and the bundle of nutrients it contains should rival the finest fish meal. Is the bioconversion process nothing but a fanciful leap of imagination? Surprisingly the process does, indeed, exist, and it may once become the fastest, cleanest, most efficient, and most economical way to recycle many types of organic agricultural waste. This process is driven by the larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens.

The aims of this project are:

  • Characterisation and comparison of different organic waste resources
  • Adaptation of process conditions to BSF life-history
  • Qualitative and quantitative chemical-physical analysis of the gained larvae and their suitability to serve as animal feed
  • Identification of the larval digestive tract microbiota
  • Hygiene screening and monitoring of pathogens.


Involved students

  • Simon Oberegger (bachelor thesis)
  • Katharina Stonig (bachelor thesis)
  • Anna Serra (bachelor thesis)


References

2021

  1. frontiers_in_microbiology_2021A.jpg
    Impact of processed food (canteen and oil wastes) on the development of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae and their gut microbiome functions
    Thomas Klammsteiner, Andreas Walter, Tajda Bogataj, Carina D. Heussler, Blaž Stres, Florian M. Steiner, Birgit C. Schlick-Steiner, and Heribert Insam
    Frontiers in Microbiology, Jan 2021

2020

  1. frontiers_in_microbiology_2020.jpg
    The core gut microbiome of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae raised on low-bioburden diets
    Thomas Klammsteiner, Andreas Walter, Tajda Bogataj, Carina D. Heussler, Blaž Stres, Florian M. Steiner, Birgit C. Schlick-Steiner, Wolfgang Arthofer, and Heribert Insam
    Frontiers in Microbiology, May 2020
  2. agronomy_2020.jpg
    Suitability of black soldier fly frass as soil amendment and implication for organic waste hygienization
    Thomas Klammsteiner, Veysel Turan, Marina Fernández-Delgado Juárez, Simon Oberegger, and Heribert Insam
    Agronomy, Oct 2020

2018

  1. biobased_future_2018.jpg
    Vom Abfall zum Futtermittel: Maden als Proteinquelle
    Thomas Klammsteiner, Carina D. Heussler, Andreas Walter, and Heribert Insam
    Biobased Future - Mitteilungsblatt über Biomasse für Energie und Industrie in einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaft, Apr 2018