Any scale.
Types of waste used: manure, droppings, death of chickens, meat and fish raw materials.
Why is the population of Russia poisoned by poisonous gases from landfills and what to do about it? A cost-effective solution to the problem of "methane" landfills and protein feed for fish farming with the help of biotechnology.
The article highlights the modern problems of waste accumulation in landfills, the reasons that led to the formation of poisonous gas at the Yadrovo landfill in Volokolamsk and the subsequent poisoning of people, the process of landfill gas formation is considered and new profitable ways of recycling (recycling) food waste are proposed...
In this article, we tried to explain to our readers in a simple and accessible language what the methods of recycling chicken manure and various manures with the help of fly larvae are. Give an answer to the question what is the uniqueness and advantages of such technologies for processing manure and manure.
And why have such cheap and unique environmentally friendly technologies, scientifically substantiated since the 60s of the last century, still not taken their unconditionally worthy place in the agricultural sector of the economy?
Our company offers high-performance equipment for rearing fly larvae on various organic waste.
In this section you can get acquainted with its technical characteristics and place an order...
This material consistently describes the stages of implementation of the proposed project for the processing of litter. Also, it provides preliminary information on the planned production for the processing of organic waste in the form of litter (schemes, calculation of areas, configuration of premises, data on the productivity and purpose of the premises), as well as the issue of economic efficiency of such production and the financial reward of the Contractor for the implementation of the project.
The material was prepared on the basis of one of our client's requests for the preparation of a detailed design for the construction of a similar enterprise, with the aim of processing 75 tons of manure to provide a duck farm with domestically produced animal protein to replace fishmeal in the poultry diet.
Information on how to create a profitable business with a profitability of 700-800% using maggot cultivation technologies.
Learn about the secrets of the fly larvae business and the difficulties you may face in starting this business.
At present, China has taken a leading position in the world in the biological utilization of food waste and agricultural waste with the help of black soldier fly larvae.
Several of China's largest investment companies, with the full support of the Chinese government, have invested heavily in the construction of such processing plants.
Mankind produces food waste on a daily basis and regardless of whether it is edible or unsuitable, food waste contains a significant amount of residual nutrients that have become inaccessible to humans and most animals due to poor quality and poor palatability. . But the black soldier fly larvae are indifferent to the taste of their food - they eat everything they are given with the same zeal..
GROWING BLACK LION LARVY ON FOOD WASTE AND OBTAINING FODDER PROTEIN, FERTILIZER AND CHITIN
An advantage when using black soldier fly larvae is their ability to significantly reduce the amount of harmful bacteria in organic waste such as manure. At its mass is reduced by 50%, and the concentration of nitrogen is reduced by 62%. This is important because excess nitrogen from manure is washed out by rains into the soil and water bodies, and heavily pollutes them. In addition, the rapid consumption of waste by the larvae of the black soldier fly eliminates the appearance of unpleasant odors emitted by manure and dung storage facilities, as well as the formation of methane gas, which poisons the atmosphere, during the decomposition of organic matter.
First of all, we plunged into the study of technology. To our great amazement, it turned out that fly larvae can be successfully used for the preparation of feed proteins. Research on this topic was carried out in the Soviet Union. The most active work was carried out at the Novosibirsk Agricultural Institute (now NSAU) by a scientific group led by Professor I.I. Gudilin. One of the members of this scientific group, Oleg Nikolaevich Sorokoletov, became our scientific consultant.
As a result, we found, read and adapted more than 500 pages of scientific papers, studied all the studies that were carried out in the USSR, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. These studies allowed us to take a different look at the technology of fly larvae production. A major restructuring began, which, in fact, has not yet ended.
Here it is necessary to make a digression and tell why we were so attracted by the topic of production of fodder protein from fly larvae.
For ourselves, we have identified three pillars of our technology: these are resources, waste and feed.
Resources are the natural resources of the earth. Many immediately start thinking about oil, minerals, and so on. But in fact, the seas, oceans, fish in them, soil, air are also natural resources. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has declared WWF the Earth's Ecological Debt Day. This means that by this day humanity has exhausted all the natural resources that the planet can restore in a year! And now we need the resources of 1.6 planets like Earth. And in 15 years, two Earths will be needed.
And the fact is that from a human point of view, everything is logical and justified: the population is growing, it needs to be fed, which means growing more plants, more animals, birds, catching more fish.
Unfortunately, this cannot continue indefinitely. It's like a pool. It is possible to scoop out "by cap" and do it for a long time, but if you do it with several caps or buckets and faster than the water enters the pool, everything will end quickly. So here. The fish will soon be gone. It is a fact.
Let's move on to poultry or pork or beef, you might think. Or we will grow fish in aquariums. It's like that. But in the diet of every animal there is fish in the form of fishmeal. Or soy. And 98% of soybeans grown are GMOs. Because without GMOs, it is impossible to grow as much soybeans as required. And then, if you do not observe crop rotation, it harms the soil. Imagine the future in 30-50 years: no fish, no soil, no animals.
All this makes us look for alternatives to protein components in animal feed. Simple statistics: if all over the world stop making fishmeal, and make, for example, canned fish, then 1.5 billion people will stop starving. By and large, we are now on the verge of the greatest achievement of mankind - the victory over hunger! And for this, it remains to take the last step - to find an alternative to fishmeal.
Now waste.
A third of all food produced in the world is wasted. Simple arithmetic: from 5 kilograms of fish, 1 kilogram of fishmeal is obtained, with which you can grow 1 kilogram of, say, trout. And we throw away 300 grams! From 5 kilograms of fish at the very beginning, we get 700 grams of fish. Where is the logic?
Every year in Russia there is such an amount of food waste that it is even difficult to count them. And no one counts, because they all end up in the same landfill and rot.
Waste is also generated in agriculture. These are meat waste, meat processing waste, manure, litter. Now agricultural complexes pay to destroy this waste or process it at least into fertilizer. Some waste, mainly meat, is used to prepare meat and bone meal - this is also a protein component for feeding. But the quality is much worse than fishmeal.
And finally stern. I have already mentioned that it is extremely important to use a quality protein component for animal feed. Moreover, for the production of such feeds, it is necessary to use technology that will contribute to the conservation of natural resources and recycle waste.
As it turned out, fly larvae are the way out. They can recycle organic waste. Moreover, different types of flies (and there are more than 90,000 of them) are adapted to different waste.
The larvae themselves, after drying and grinding, turn into flour with a pleasant smell of roasted seeds. And the amino acid composition is better than that of fishmeal.
Here it is, we thought, and began to rub the flies, excuse me, hands!
We have identified two products: the first is the feed protein itself, which we sell to poultry farms, pig farms, fish farms, manufacturers of food for cats, dogs, rodents, reptiles, birds, fish, etc. And the second is the technology license.
Imagine that the technology is placed inside a poultry farm or a pig farm and adapted to the type of organic waste that is generated in these complexes. As a result of processing, excellent feed and organic fertilizer are obtained. And all this again goes into production. As a result - savings on disposal, on the purchase of fishmeal. We kept the fish in the oceans and took a small step towards the victory over hunger. An enterprise saves a lot, and a large enterprise saves a lot. And this affects the cost of meat on the shelves, the availability of products for the population, and food safety.
After we decided on the products, we began to bring the cost of production to an acceptable level. And it directly depends on the technology.
Technology consists of several blocks. I must say right away that all the equipment used is top-secret. We are far from where we started.
The first block is the insectarium. This is where the flies live. We have about 5 million of them at our enterprise. And in the future it should be closer to 20 million. We joke that when so many insects fly at the same time, our building can fly away like Ellie's house. Indeed, 5 meters before the room where the flies live, their meditative buzzing is already heard.
Our workers eat sugar, milk powder, drink water. Their main duty is to lay eggs. They lay them every day on special trays with minced meat, which is made from meat waste. Once a day, eggs are taken from the insectarium and moved to the larval rearing area.
There we place fly eggs on the waste of a poultry farm (for experiments we take them from a regional company). The larvae hatch under the right climatic conditions and begin to process waste. The larvae have external digestion: they secrete a special secret that mineralizes and liquefies the raw material, the larvae pass it through themselves like a pump. The organism of the larva assimilates only the substances and amino acids necessary for itself. Everything ends in 4 days - that's how much the larva needs to increase in size by 300 times and reach its maximum size. By this time, the larvae no longer feed, we collect them, separate them from the processed substrate (which then becomes fertilizer) using a special technology, and send them for drying. Then, if necessary, grind. This is the fodder protein from fly larvae.
Speaking about the quality of this food product, about its usefulness and digestibility, one only needs to imagine that from the larva, from those substances that it “absorbed” into itself, a new organism will be built - a fly, which is completely different from its previous form. And in order for this to happen, all substances, amino acids must be in a semi-disassembled state, ready for restructuring, as parts of a constructor that Nature assembles at its own discretion.
As a result, from 10 kilograms of waste, from what is thrown out, rotten and stinks, we get 1 kilogram of high-quality, easily digestible feed protein.
At the moment, the cost of 1 kilogram of protein from fly larvae is 40-60 rubles, with a sale price of 100 rubles per kilogram. And this is already an acceptable price for the market. However, we understand that automation, robotization of production is required in order to reduce the cost by another 2-3 times.
The plans include entering the pet food market, isolating enzymes from larvae, isolating antibiotics (scientists in the UK have isolated Seraticin, an antibiotic against Staphylococcus aureus), and isolating other useful and antiviral substances. We will try to introduce MDT (Maggot debridement therapy) in Russia - therapy of difficult-to-heal wounds, trophic ulcers with the help of fly larvae. The technology has been used for 20 years in the US, UK, Germany, Australia with a 98% cure rate. But in Russia, official medicine does not use it yet.
Flies in a cage live for about 3-4 weeks. And then they die. Now we are utilizing the dead flies along with MSW, but in the future we plan to isolate natural polymers from flies - chitin and melanin. From chitin, chitosan can be produced and used in animal nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and the chemical industry. This is a very valuable material, which is called the polymer of the future. And some say that it promotes weight loss.
When I say that we are at the forefront, I am not exaggerating. There are about 20 teams in the world that work in this direction. And only two have enterprises that actually process organic waste with the help of fly larvae. One of the companies - Agriprotein - is located in South Africa, the other in Canada. Bill Gates invested about $11 million in Agriprotein. Other competing companies also receive investments in the amount of $10-30 million.
We have invested only about 50 million rubles (of which 35 million are the money of the father, relatives, friends, and 15 million - bank and investment financing) - and managed to create a product-technology, in which we get biomass 5 times faster than this is done by our foreign colleagues.
Now we are looking for partners with whom we can go further and start a global revolution in agriculture.
Many people say that they do not believe in our desire to defeat hunger, to conserve resources, that, they say, only profit matters. But how great it is when there is a solution in which you can combine both moral and material satisfaction!
Correspondents of the magazine " Agrotechnics and technologies”said the organizers of the promising business.
Already now, the livestock and poultry production of many countries is experiencing a shortage of feed protein, the main sources of which are legumes, meat and bone and fish meal. Fishmeal is an important component of feed for birds, pigs and fish, but its cost is steadily increasing year by year, and the increase in production volumes is limited. All this forces scientists and agricultural producers to look for alternative sources of protein. However, the history of the project began with completely different goals and objectives.
“Creating the company in 2015, we planned to engage in scouting and transfer of advanced innovative technologies to the agro-industrial complex,” says Igor Abalakin, technical director of Entroprotek. “Then one of the industry leaders set us the task of finding an effective solution to the problem of poultry manure processing. In the course of the work, various technologies were worked out: from active composting to pyrolysis. In the process of searching for the best option, we found out that in Japan, pig manure is processed by a biological method - with the help of insects. And the fact that insects are a rich source of protein only fueled our interest. And we decided: why not try to process bird droppings in this way?
The company's specialists began to study the technology in more detail. A test batch of larvae was purchased, the necessary conditions for breeding were created, and the first laboratory population was obtained. Further, the first experiments on processing were laid. “The technology has proven its effectiveness even when working with such heavy raw materials as bird droppings,” continues Igor Abalakin. “However, it quickly became clear that there are a number of technological difficulties for the industrial implementation of such a project. In a deeper dive into the issue of organic waste disposal, we found out that there are companies in Europe and North America that specialize in the processing of food losses and food waste (FLW). Thus, by examining their experience, at the end of 2016 we equipped our own laboratory with a total area of 45 m² to develop the technology for processing FFW.”
The technology used by Entroprotek is based on the ability of the insect larvae of the Black Lion (Hermetia illucens) to process plant organic waste. This makes it possible to use food products as efficiently as possible, returning the necessary feed protein obtained from the biomass of larvae to the food chain of farm animals and birds. “The main advantage of the technology is its safety for the environment and humans,” emphasizes the company's technical director. — The results of the study of the Black Lionfish at the A. N. Severtsov Institute for Ecology and Evolution (IPEE RAS) confirmed that this species of insects does not tolerate infections, is not capable of surviving in the absence of the necessary conditions, and dies when it enters the external environment. In addition, the conditions of our production exclude the ingress of hazardous and harmful substances into the environment, both through ventilation and through wastewater.”
Imago Flies (adults) are kept in special insectariums. The device of the insectarium prevents insects from entering the external environment. For the vital activity and high productivity of insects, a certain microclimate is maintained inside (temperature, humidity, lighting). Periodically, the collection of ovipositions is carried out, which are placed in an incubator, where the process of hatching and receiving landing larvae takes place. At the same time, organic waste enters the warehouse: substandard grain and food products from retail chains. Waste is released from packaging, crushed and go through the process of homogenization (bringing to a homogeneous state). At the next stage, larvae grown in an incubator are added to the resulting substance. A container with waste and larvae is placed in the processing shop, where all conditions necessary for the favorable existence of larvae are maintained. Within two weeks, the larvae process the substrate in which they are located. At the end of this period, with the help of sifting, the larvae are separated from the waste processing product - compost, which is a valuable organic fertilizer. The larvae are sent for drying and grinding, after which a protein feed product is obtained. In general, the technological stages of breeding and keeping the Black Lion are similar to the stages in poultry farming: obtaining a hatching egg, incubation, rearing and fattening.
“All areas of the technology have been worked out by us on a pilot scale,” explains Igor Abalakin. – The Research Center for Toxicology and Hygienic Regulation of Biological Products (SRC TBP FMBA) has developed a pilot industrial regulation for our bioprocessing technology, as well as technical specifications for the production of protein feed additives and zoocompost. In the course of assessing the impact of bioprocessing technology on the environment, in order to confirm environmental safety and undergo the state environmental review procedure, numerous studies were carried out to study the amino acid profile, microbiological indicators, and nutritional value of our products. In addition, tests of the protein feed additive on aquaculture, poultry and pigs have shown the high efficiency of the product. Also, Entroprotek products are of interest to owners of unproductive and exotic animals: lizards, turtles, hedgehogs, iguanas, as well as fighting and decorative bird breeds.
So far, there are no analogues to such production of protein flour in Russia. Entroprotek has already built a pilot workshop for industrial production in the Penza region with a throughput of up to 15 tons of food waste per day. Production is mechanized, technological lines for waste acceptance, substrate preparation, thermal processing of insect larvae biomass in order to obtain various products (feed protein, entomological fat, chitin, zoohumus) are selected. “Hundreds of experiments were carried out by our scientific core in order to collect statistics on individual types of waste and develop a unique recipe for each of them,” says Igor Abalakin. “A separate branch of the project development is genetic research and selection work to improve the fly populations at our disposal.”
A patent has been obtained for the technology, four applications relating to individual parts of the entire process are now under consideration by experts from the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS), and more than 25 applications are being developed. All products received certificates of conformity. At the moment, the procedure for state registration of feed additives in the Rosselkhoznadzor is nearing completion.
Only one procedure has not yet been completed - the state registration of the feed additive. The registration certificate will allow the company to enter the wholesale market of feed producers.
The Zooprotein group of companies is implementing an innovative project in the Central Federal District (Lipetsk) to process organic agricultural waste to produce high-protein animal feed.
Waste processing is carried out by fly larvae, which are subsequently dried, crushed and introduced into the diet of animals. The advantages of this feed over traditional ones are in the high content of protein, amino acids and in the effect on the animal's body. It is a cheaper analogue of fishmeal, the consumption of which in Russia is 100 thousand tons per month. Moreover, the consumption of 1 ton of our product (protein-lipid concentrate) saves 5 tons of fish in the oceans. And its reserves are rapidly declining - the cost of fishmeal, for example, has grown 8 times over the past 15 years! The project has been operating for about 2 years, a pilot production has been built, the technology has been tested, contacts have been established, there are buyers, support from the administration. 30 million have already been invested in production rubles by the project initiator It is planned to expand production to 60 tons per month to ensure high demand for products. Further, the enterprise can scale and develop at the expense of profit. 120,000,000 million rubles are required. We are considering the option of a 40% share in the business. We are ready to discuss alternative options. Payback 4 years (1 year construction of the enterprise, 3 years of operation) Gross revenue per year 85 million rubles.
Profit (EAT) - 45 million rubles a year.
Market Analytics
The monthly consumption of protein feed by agricultural enterprises is more than 100 thousand tons. We offer the market a product that is better (backed by research), cheaper and safer. And at the first stage, we need to sell 12-15 tons per month (this is the volume of 1 enterprise). According to forecasts, the market itself will grow by 30% per year. The Russian market will grow even more rapidly. Our company is included in the National Technology Initiative.
What is unique is that we have brought the project on the use of insects in animal feed into the real world. And unlike laboratories and other institutions, we have already started selling it. our production does not use fish, the catch of which endangers the safety of the seas. The project is included in the list of Skolkovo residents
Insects are the food of the future, many environmentalists, economists and even the governments of individual European countries are sure. Compared to traditional animal husbandry, the breeding of locusts and larvae requires almost no resources, and in terms of protein, insects are not much inferior to familiar meat.
Inspired by a progressive idea, St. Petersburg programmer Nadezhda Serkova, together with her friends, organized a microfarm at home for breeding flour beetle larvae (aka flour beetle or flour beetle). With them, the team managed to participate in restaurant day, together with the educational project "Grass" a special gastronomic dinner, as well as to be featured in the Open Map project - on excursions in early January, everyone could look at the farm and taste the larvae.
The Village talked to Nadezhda about enlightenment, overcoming aversion to insects, their gastronomic properties, and massive worm shoots.
It all started with the fact that my boyfriend Sergey and his friend read about edible insects in the “Survive on a Weave” public page. Apparently, it was some kind of semi-humorous post: they say, "guys, you can feed yourself." They laughed at it and told me. I then said: “What a horror, I won’t eat it, but I support you morally!”. And just a day later, at our house, as part of the Eco Cup ecological festival, the film “Wastecooking” was shown. This is the story of Austrian eco-activist David Gross, who studied the problem of wasted food: how much food is thrown away by supermarkets and restaurants, how much goes bad in ordinary people's refrigerators, and so on. In the film, he travels around Europe and makes little sketches on the subject. He considers different facets of the problem, and one of them is just alternative sources of protein - including flour beetle. In general, the film clearly and sensibly talks about what the essence of insect breeding is and why it can be interesting, except for a portion of lulz, unusual sensations and the expansion of aesthetic and taste horizons.
In theory, this can affect the economy, for example, of developing countries and even partially solve the problem of hunger. Another important point: all the uneaten food that remains from the larvae is an excellent fertilizer. We do not use this, because nothing grows in our house, except for two cacti, but in general the idea is impressive. For breeding worms, you can use substandard products that would otherwise be thrown away, and what remains after them can also be used somehow. It turns out literally waste-free production. Full eco cycling!
After watching the movie, we thought it was fate and decided to try it ourselves. We began to google, looking for information about how the larvae are bred and how they are then cooked.
"Largot farm" is, of course, a very loud word. Imagine if you were not familiar with such a vegetable as a tomato, and some person showed you a pot of tomatoes on the balcony and called it a "tomato farm." This would be about the same. In the same film, for example, it is shown how the larvae are bred on an industrial scale, there you can see huge rooms and large bags with ready-made larvae. And in our case - it's just a few boxes.
Starting a farm like ours at home is not difficult at all. First, you go to the pet store to get grubs. Usually flour worms are used to feed animals - reptiles, fish and birds. They are not sold in every pet store, but you can find if you want. Then you put them in a box and sprinkle them with some kind of bread substance: we, for example, now use oatmeal, but flour, bread, bran, and so on will also work. Even from time to time, worms need to throw vegetables (for example, carrots) - they are needed as a source of liquid. After a few weeks, the larvae begin to pupate, then turn into beetles, and the beetles, respectively, lay eggs, from which new larvae then appear. The full cycle - from the purchase of worms to the appearance of the first, very small, second-generation larvae - takes about three and a half months, depending on temperature and conditions. We keep the larvae in the bathroom because it's the warmest place in the apartment, but our friends had a farm in the bar - and there it all happened a little slower.
We were largely forced to act at random. Information on the cultivation of flour worms comes across on the Internet, but the technology for growing them for food at home is not very developed. Now we understand that a lot of things could have been done better and easier. For example, we used large oatmeal, and when we decided to participate in a restaurant festival, we realized that it was quite difficult to separate worms from oatmeal. And if we had guessed to take oatmeal, there would have been no problem - then it was enough just to sift it through a sieve.
But, in fact, this is not so important, because we grow our conditional "tomato on the balcony" and our goal is not to feed ourselves or other people with larvae, but for someone to write an article about it or open larval restaurant. And to have something to write about and something to inspire. We are doing this.
I will say again that at first the idea seemed terribly unpleasant to me - not only could I not imagine that I would eat the larvae, it was difficult for me to just look at them. I don't really like insects at all. But nevertheless, they settled in my house, after a while I got used to it, then I ate them, everything became normal, but for some time I could not completely get rid of disgust.
For quite a long time we tried on, did not know how to arrange all this correctly so that it was convenient. At first, the larvae lived in a cardboard box, and they, you need to understand, are able to gnaw through cardboard. At some point, we did not keep track and we had a massive escape of worms. To be honest, it was terrible. You come home, and there it is! Worms in the bathroom, worms on all the shelves, worms in the cosmetic bag. At that time I was not yet on such a friendly footing with these creatures and raised a screech. We eliminated the disaster, but then a few more times there were such situations when you delve into your cosmetic bag to find lipstick, and there you have a larva. You also raise a little squeal, calm down, take it out - and live on.
The very first dish was meatballs - they were shown in the movie, so we decided to start with that too. Only if in the film they were made from 70 percent meat, then we used chickpeas, lentils and various cereals instead. It turned out something like falafel. Part of this stuffing was fried and ground larvae. The obvious advantage of this dish was that you couldn't tell from the outside that you were eating insects. Therefore, it was easier to disengage from this thought and feel that there was nothing wrong with that, that they really had good taste. It was important for us to understand: you ate insects - and everything is fine.
We also just fried them, and then added them to pasta, salads, made rolls with them. At restaurant day we served something like a shawarma with vegetables and sauce, only instead of meat we had larval meatballs. We also added them to
