Description:SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REARING
BLACK SOLDIER FLY LARVAE

FIELD OF INVENTION
The embodiments herein relate to a system and a method for rearing black soldier fly larvae (Hermitia Illucens) for use in composting of food waste, which is simple, easy to follow, or guide and is sustainable.
BACKGROUND
With the expanse of urbanization, there has been a stark increase in the amount of waste material produced in order to sustain the urban lifestyle. Around the world, nearly 2 billion tons of waste is generated every year. India alone generates nearly 62 million metric tons of municipal waste every year. A number of factors including population growth, urbanization, economic growth and consumer shopping habits, waste generation have increased exponentially around the world in recent decades and there are no signs of it slowing down. It is estimated that by the year 2050, the worldwide municipal solid waste generation is expected to have increased by roughly 70 percent to around 3.4 billion metric tons. It is also estimated that at least 33 percent of waste generated is not managed in an environmentally safe manner.
Such large quantity of waste mandates the need for government bodies to provide improved methods of waste treatment and disposal. Unfortunately, it is estimated that only 20 percent of waste generated is recycled each year, leaving the rest to be sent to landfills and is often discarded in open dump sites. The most common form of waste is food/ kitchen waste, comprising nearly 50 percent of all municipal solid waste. Several millions of tons of food mostly in the form of fruit and vegetables are wastes every year, making food waste one of the leading causes of environmental pollution, contributing to nearly 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Although food waste management in India is steadily gaining momentum, not enough is done to combat the amount of food waste that is generated every day.
Food or kitchen waste contains high water content, which is high in nutritive value, salinity, proteins and other organic matter. Currently, methods of food waste management include carrying out processes such as burning, disposing in landfills and processing by composting, which can be either aerobic or anaerobic, vermi-composting, and converting the said waste to useful products such as biofuels, or liquid fertilizers or animal feed. Although these techniques significantly aid in the management of food waste, they are disadvantageous in which the waste is not completely disposed of or managed. Burning of food waste inevitably leads to an increase in air pollution. Methane released from the burning of organic matter remains in the atmosphere for nearly 20 years, leading to global warming and subsequent climate change. While disposing of food waste in landfills is a cheap method of waste management, it is not a sustainable method as large landfills are filled faster than the waste can be broken down, leading to the overfilling of these landfills. Further, the waste nitrogen and urea from the food waste percolate the soil and waterbed leading to hazardous soil and water pollution. Liquid by-products of composting methods are known to contain organic solutes which are toxic. Proper treatment and detoxification of these by-products is not established. Apart from toxic liquid by-products, various other by products such as gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, etc., alcohols like ethanol or methanol, organic acids including acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, etc., and other by-products like sugars, proteins and amines are produced. No established process exists to rid the compost of these materials completely, and hence, an improved, safer method to manage food waste is required.
A relatively simple, yet effective method of treatment of organic waste includes the conversion of organic refuse to rich humus. Fly larvae can feed on a variety of organic materials, and also have economic value as animal and fish feed. One such fly larvae are the black soldier fly larvae (Hermitia Illucens). First introduced as a means to treat waste food material in the 1990s, it is indigenous to the tropical areas. Black soldier fly larvae are scavenger insects that do not pose a threat to human beings as they are not agronomic pests. Adult black solder flies do not have functional mouthparts, and do not regurgitate food, making them not capable of transmitting diseases. This makes black soldier flies ideal candidates for the use in composting. Treatment of waste food material using this method ensures that nearly 50 to 80 percent of the wet weight of the food waste is broken down. The black soldier fly larvae can convert food or kitchen waste into moist odor less compost in a matter of days. Following the treatment of the waste material, the larvae can be easily separated from the compost and is subsequently dehydrated or used as feed for fish or poultry. Other important by-products from the larvae include protein meal, fats, production of bio diesel and polysaccharides like chitin and chitosan.
The existing methods for the rearing of black soldier fly larvae involve tedious processes which require long hours of skilled work to ensure the proper running of the composting facility.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved system and a method for rearing black soldier fly larvae for use in composting of food waste, which is simple, easy to follow and train for and is sustainable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of system for rearing black soldier fly larvae, according to an embodiment of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention provides a system (100) for rearing black soldier fly larvae (L). The system (100) includes a compost container (102) to accommodate the organic waste matter and the moisture regulating medium. A filter (104) separates liquid from the organic waste matter. A tank (105) stores the liquid filtered by the filter (104). A plurality of liquid control valves (110) facilitates the removal of excess liquid from the tank (105). A plurality of aeration valves (106) aids ambient air flow into the compost container (102). A plurality of mesh doors prevents the entry of any foreign body into the compost container (102). The black soldier flies lay eggs in the compost container (102) and the black soldier fly larvae(L) feed on the organic waste matter in the compost container (102) facilitating its conversion into compost.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method for rearing black soldier fly larvae (L). The method includes introducing the organic waste matter into a compost container (102). Layers of moisture regulating medium are spread in between the layers of organic waste matter. The black soldier flies are attracted towards the decomposing organic waste matter and lay eggs in the compost container (102). The organic waste matter is converted into compost by the black soldier fly larvae (L).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The embodiments herein achieve an improved and safer food waste management system. The invention provides a system and method for the rearing of Black soldier fly larvae (Hermitia Illucens) (L). Fig. 1 shows a system for rearing black soldier fly larvae (L), according to an embodiment of the invention. The system (100) includes at least one compost container (102), a filter (104), a tank (105), a plurality of aeration members (106), a plurality of mesh doors (108) and a plurality of liquid control valves (110). The compost container (102) accommodates the organic waste matter and the moisture regulating medium. The organic waste matter and the moisture regulating medium are configured in alternate layers in the compost container (102). The moisture regulating medium is selected from a group consisting of natural fiber and synthetic fiber. In one embodiment of the invention, the moisture regulating medium used is natural fiber. In one embodiment of the invention, the natural fiber used is coconut fiber. The moisture regulating medium regulates the moisture level in the compost container (102) which in turn reduces the bad odor from the organic waste matter in the compost container (102). A filter (104) is positioned at the base part of the compost container (102) to separate liquid from the organic waste matter. The liquid filtered by the filter (104) and stored in the tank (105) contains high concentration of nitrogen and is used as a nutrient for plants. A tank (105) defined with a slope (105S) is arranged below the filter (104) to store the liquid filtered by the filter (104). A plurality of liquid control valves (110) are directed towards the slope(105S) of the tank (105) to facilitate removal of excess liquid from the tank (105). The liquid control valves (110) are operated manually or automatically. In one embodiment of the invention the liquid control valves (110) are operated manually. The liquid control valves (110) ensure the maintenance of the optimum level of liquid and moisture in the compost container (102) by removing excess liquid from the tank (105). A plurality of aeration valves (106) are arranged along the sides of the compost container (102) to aid ambient air flow into the compost container (102). The aeration valves (106) allow ambient air flow into the compost container (102) thereby regulating the temperature in the compost container (102). A plurality of mesh doors (108) are fixed at the top end of the compost container (102) to prevent the entry of any foreign body into the compost container (102). The mesh doors (108) prevent pest attack on the black soldier fly larvae (L). The mesh doors (108) also prevent the black soldier fly larvae (L) from birds and animals which consume it as it is a high source of protein and fat. The system (100) provides a food waste management system involving a simple yet significant composting process which neither requires any kind of machines nor heavy maintenance.
The invention also provides a method of rearing black soldier fly larvae (L) that is simple, easy to follow and train for and is sustainable. The method for rearing black soldier fly larvae (L) includes introducing the organic waste matter into a compost container (102). The layers of moisture regulating medium are spread in between the layers of organic waste matter. The black soldier fly is attracted towards the decomposing organic waste matter. The black soldier flies are allowed to lay eggs in the compost container (102). The organic waste matter is converted into compost by the black soldier fly larvae (L). The organic waste matter is allowed for complete decomposition for a predefined time period. The black soldier fly larvae (L) are induced into the compost container (102) to accelerate the process of composting of the organic waste matter. The black soldier flies feed on the food waste and multiply undergoing their life cycle of egg-larvae-pupae-adult. The food waste is decomposed by the black soldier fly larvae (L) thereby obtaining rich organic compost. The increased proportion of waste, better management of humidity, temperature, excess food waste liquid draining, right aeration etc. help growth of large number of black soldier fly larvae (L) and composting of food waste into nutritive manure. The black soldier fly larvae (L) feed on the food waste to provide compost, as well as use as animal feed.
The described system and method for rearing of black soldier fly larvae is simple in design and is inexpensive. Rearing the black soldier fly larvae (L) for composting food waste as well as harvesting black soldier fly larvae (L) for use as organic rich animal feed. The food waste management system is eco-friendly. The food waste management system is simple, easy to follow and train for and is sustainable.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
, Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A system (100) for rearing black soldier fly larvae (L), the system (100) comprising:
a compost container (102) to accommodate the organic waste matter and the moisture regulating medium;
a filter (104) positioned at the base part of the compost container (102) to separate liquid from the organic waste matter;
a tank (105) defined with a slope (105S) arranged below the filter (104) to store the liquid filtered by the filter (104);
a plurality of liquid control valves (110) directed towards the slope(105S) of the tank (105) to facilitate removal of excess liquid from the tank (105);
a plurality of aeration valves (106) arranged along the sides of the compost container (102) to aid ambient air flow into the compost container (102); and
a plurality of mesh doors (108) fixed at the top end of the compost container (102) to prevent the entry of any foreign body into the compost container (102),
characterized in that the black soldier flies lay eggs in the compost container (102) and the black soldier fly larvae(L) feed on the organic waste matter in the compost container (102) facilitating its conversion into compost.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the organic waste matter and the moisture regulating medium are configured in alternate layers in the compost container (102).
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the moisture regulating medium is selected from a group consisting of natural fiber and synthetic fiber.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the moisture regulating medium regulates the moisture level in the compost container (102) which in turn reduces the bad odor from the organic waste matter in the compost container (102).
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aeration valves (106) allow ambient air flow into the compost container (102) thereby regulating the temperature in the compost container (102).
6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid filtered by the filter (104) and stored in the tank (105) contains high concentration of nitrogen and is used as a nutrient for plants.
7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid control valves (110) ensure the maintenance of the optimum level of liquid and moisture in the compost container (102) by facilitating the removal of excess liquid from the tank (105).
8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slope (105S) of the tank (105) enables the flow of the liquid in the direction of the liquid control valves (110).
9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mesh doors (108) prevent pest attack on the black soldier fly larvae (L) which is a high source of protein and fat.
10. A method for rearing black soldier fly larvae (L), the method comprising:
introducing the organic waste matter into a compost container (102);
spreading layers of moisture regulating medium in between the layers of organic waste matter;
attracting the black soldier fly towards the decomposing organic waste matter;
allowing the black soldier fly to lay eggs in the compost container (102); and
converting the organic waste matter into compost by the black soldier fly larvae (L).
11. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the black soldier fly larvae (L) are induced into the compost container (102) to accelerate the process of composting of the organic waste matter.