Bioconversion of Organic Fraction of Solid Waste Using the Larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermentia illucens)

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2013-09
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Ghana like many other developing countries is battling with challenges pertaining to effective ways of managing solid waste. Usually, waste management companies are unable to collect efficiently the waste produced in various municipals and thereby always leaving a back log. The larvae of the black soldier fly, Hermentia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) has been propagated as a feeder of organic material and may be used in simple engineered systems to reduce organic waste in developing countries. This research sought to assess the use of black soldier fly larvae to digest and degrade organic food waste collected from a restaurant – Obaapa – on the KNUST campus in a small-scale laboratory experiment in Ghana. To cultivate the BSF larvae, one has to apply an attractant (carcass of rat meat, fresh fish, chicken feed and human faeces) to attract matured flies. The BSF is ascertained by observation and separation. Afterwards, the larvae are generated by providing ideal moisture conditions for the larvae to hatch from the eggs. In the laboratory experiment, 5 feed classes code named B25, B75, B100, B125 and B200 with feeding rates of 0.25, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25 and 2.00 g/larvae/ day were fed in a small experiment box (in triplicates). These were inoculated with 50 larvae each of 5-6 day old BSF larvae. The research concludes that, a daily feeding rate of 1.00g of food waste per larvae per day is able to meet high organic matter extraction within a shorter period to produce better prepupal yield. Thus, for a 1 tonne waste, a million larvae are needed to successfully reduce it by 91.25% in 5days. This research proves that the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermentia illucens), are able to digest and degrade municipal organic solid waste in Ghana between 44-94%.
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A Thesis Submitted to the College of Engineering, Through the Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In Water Supply & Environmental Sanitation
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