A Growth Kinetics Model for Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae

Abstract

Known as a promising protein source, black soldier fly (BSF) larva has attracted the attention of many researchers. BSF larvae have the ability to convert organic waste into protein. However, the growth modeling of this process has not been studied previously. Hence, this study generated a BSF larvae growth model to explain BSF larvae production. Vegetable and fruit waste collected from the Gamping fruit market was used as the growth media. The weight of larvae and the leftover substrate were measured for 20 days. The substrate consumed was related to larvae body mass. The model was properly fitted with R-squared values of 0.9988 and 0.9312 for the substrate consumption and larvae growth, respectively. The value of the kinetics constants in this study were 0.847 ± 0.018 g 0.5 day-1 for k1; 0.058 ± 0.019 g-0.5 day-1 for k2; and 0.007 ± 0.013 g-1.0 day-1 for k3.