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An Enterprise-Driven Community Toilet System Sustaining on Commercial Values Generated by Black Soldier Fly Larvae Grown on Human Feces (research project in India)
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Re: An Enterprise-Driven Community Toilet System Sustaining on Commercial Values Generated by Black Soldier Fly Larvae Grown on Human Feces (research project in India)
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Re: BSF research project in India funded by BMGF
I have asked Sudipta Sarkar from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee to give us an update on the project on black soldier fly larvae grown on humand faeces (funded by the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge India funding scheme of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).
Here is what he has provided:
Title of grant: An Enterprise-Driven High Quality Community Toilet System Sustaining on Commercial Values Generated by Black Soldier Fly Larvae Grown on Human Feces
Name of lead organization: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (www.iitr.ernet.in/)
- Primary contact at lead organization: Dr Sudipta Sarkar
- Grantee location: Roorkee, India
- Developing country where the research is being or will be tested: India
- Start and end date: January 2015-June 2016
- Grant type: Reinvent the Toilet Challenge India *
- Funding for this research currently ongoing (yes/no): Not yet started
It is a proof-of-concept project to demonstrate that black soldier fly (BSF) larvae can be used to convert human feces in to valuable end products. We are looking at finding out parameters such as growth kinetics, effect of environmental variables, etc. which shall be helpful in designing and developing prototype processes and pilot reactors for future deployment.
Goal(s):
a) Establishing a proof that black fly soldier fly can be used effectively in Indian conditions for transforming the human feces into biomass by its larvae, and
b) Identifying and finding the market value of commercially important end products that can be recovered from the mature BSF larvae.
Objectives:
a) To observe and determine the effect of type of substrates containing human faeces and different environmental conditions on the life-cycle of black soldier fly in and out of the substrates;
b) To study and optimize the process of artificial mating of the flies and mass hatching of eggs under different controlled conditions;
c) To study the kinetics of the growth of BSFL and their waste conversion rate on different types of substrate; this includes human faeces with varied proportions of organic waste;
d) To prepare Indian and Global technology landscape analysis report for the use of black soldier fly larvae for the treatment of human waste;
e) To perform market research for the use of larvae by-products
Additional information:
- Research or implementation partners: Freshroom Lifesciences, Chennai, India
- Links, further readings – results to date: NIL
- Current state of affairs: Work not yet Started
- Biggest successes so far: None
- Main challenges / frustration: None at this moment
Elisabeth
* The total amount of the RTTC India grant is $1,068,908, which is spread over six research projects, one of them is this one (see also: www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/Quic...s/2013/05/OPP1055862)
Further information about the RTTC India grant scheme is also available here on the forum:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/139-gr...nda-gates-foundation
Freelance consultant on environmental and climate projects
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Re: BSF research project in India funded by BMGF
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Re: BSF research project in India funded by BMGF
In this proof-of-concept project, we aim to develop and validate a novel waste treatment system where human fecal matter and other bodily waste materials shall be consumed by Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae, mature prepupae of which can be harvested to extract valuable products. Specifically, with the award funding we look forward to achieving the following objectives in next one year:
a) kinetics and extent of growth of BSF larvae on different types of substrates (mixed with human faeces) and under different environmental conditions to find out their effect on its life-cycle in and out of the substrates and also on their waste conversion rate.
b) the extent of artificial mating and mass hatching of eggs under different controlled conditions; and,
c) research on the potential market for the valuable by-products that can be produced from the harvested larvae.
Our team at IIT Roorkee shall also work in the future to design and develop better toilets which shall provide high degree of comfort for the users, a feature largely absent in the individual and community toilets in rural India. We believe that if people are provided with a better option such as a good-quality toilet, they would never go for open defecation. To this end, cost of installation and upkeep of high-quality community toilets can be sustained only if they are supported by a sustainable business model where all the stakeholders shall get benefitted. A social enterprise-driven system fits perfectly well here, earning profit from recovering market values from the liquid and solid excreta. The mature BSF larvae are rich sources of fat, protein and chitin, all of which can be processed to make products of high market value. My team at IIT Roorkee shall also perform research on the downstream processing of the harvested BSF larvae for optimum generation of values.
This is a proof-of-concept step, based on which there will be a much larger project leading to prototype development and implementation. BSF larvae are being tried for stabilization of municipal organic/ food waste in many places around the globe. In India, a small firm named Freshrooms Life Sciences located in Chennai is commercially producing chicken and animal feed derived from BSF larvae grown over food waste. In the current project, IIT Roorkee has decided to make the firm their partner.
I am interested in what the 'products of high market value' from the larvae might be.
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Re: BSF research project in India funded by BMGF
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Re: BSF research project in India funded by BMGF
+++++
Note by moderator (EvM): Sorry about that, I fixed the broken link now.
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Re: BSF research project in India funded by BMGF
@ Billy: yes, it's a no brainer that black solider fly larvae love human faeces. But the devil is in the detail: how many of the faecal pathogens could end up in or on the fly larvae and how should the fly larvae to be processed to make it into a safe feed for e.g. fish? And what about the pharmaceutical residues in the faeces. And what would be optimum feeding regimes etc. There are still plenty of open research questions here (let along the legal questions, see forum.susana.org/forum/categories/91-pro...d-for-farmed-animals )
Greetings,
Elisabeth
Freelance consultant on environmental and climate projects
Located in Ulm, Germany
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
My Wikipedia user profile: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:EMsmile
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- joeturner
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An Enterprise-Driven Community Toilet System Sustaining on Commercial Values Generated by Black Soldier Fly Larvae Grown on Human Feces (research project in India)
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in collaboration with Fresh Rooms Life Sciences: The project will develop a single household container that will cultivate Black Soldier Fly larvae, using human faeces, which can be processed into valuable products. The project will also demonstrate the market potential for these products. This is a proof of concept grant.
If I find more details of what they're proposing, I will add it here.
(I have moved the post from a different thread as this one seems more relevant - in case anyone is wondering)
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- An Enterprise-Driven Community Toilet System Sustaining on Commercial Values Generated by Black Soldier Fly Larvae Grown on Human Feces (research project in India)