Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Life Cycle Assessment on the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens L.)

Abstract

The black soldier fly (BSF) is recognised as a valuable insect for mitigating feed and organic waste management challenges. Thus, concerted efforts are being directed toward the promotion of the BSF. Despite the numerous advantages of BSF larvae, there are several critical environmental aspects, particularly its global warming potential, that need to be considered before large-scale adoption due to the complexity of the insect’s value chain. The direct assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions from BSF larvae biotreatment is crucial for conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the insect products’ environmental performance. This article reviews the emissions of GHG from BSF larvae bioconversion activities based on different gas sensing techniques while highlighting the factors that influence these emissions. Generally, low gas emissions were reported. However, the influence of various factors influencing emissions remains unclear, especially for nitrous oxide. We also analysed LCA studies on BSFL products while emphasising the uncertainties and variabilities among the studies. The wide variation of impact scores reported in the studies suggests that standardised guidelines should be developed to streamline methodical approaches for impact assessments pertaining to system boundaries, functional units, allocation, and system expansion assumptions. We identified several aspects for future improvements to harmonise studies in order to enhance the comparative assessment of the BSFL products.