BITS Hyd Researchers Develop Device To Turn Food Scraps Into Animal Feed
Black soldier fly larvae convert food scraps into protein-rich feed, offering institutions a low-cost waste management solution.
Hyderabad: Food scraps from kitchens could be turned into animal feed using a Rs 2,500 device developed by researchers at BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus. The enclosed unit uses black soldier fly larvae to process wet waste, and initial trials yielded about 2 kg of larvae a day over 20 days, according to the institute.
The device was developed by Prof. Sankar Ganesh Palani of the Department of Biological Sciences and research graduate Dr Atun Roy Choudhury and is intended for hotels, hospitals, educational institutions and residential societies that generate food waste.
Vegetable peels, fruit scraps and cooked food go into the unit, where the larvae consume the material during a feeding cycle of about two weeks. Conventional composting can take several weeks or months, the researchers said.
“The black soldier fly is a harmless insect whose larvae feed on vegetable and fruit waste, cooked food and manure,” Dr Choudhury said. “They do most of their eating in a two-week larval stage, converting waste into body mass far more efficiently than warm-blooded animals.”
The researchers assembled the system from materials available in local hardware shops. It has an egg-laying and hatching vessel and a separate bucket that collects mature larvae. A 7 to 8 cm layer of coconut coir and sand filters the liquid released during processing.
That liquid is circulated back through the unit to maintain moisture at 50 to 60 per cent and help mature larvae move into the collection bucket, reducing manual handling. The enclosed design is also intended to reduce unpleasant odours.
According to BITS Pilani, the larvae contain about 20 per cent protein and 25 per cent fat and could serve as an ingredient in poultry, pig and aquaculture feed. The leftover organic material, called frass, may also be used as a soil amendment.
