ES2806143A1 - Equipment and system for breeding insects (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Equipment and system for breeding insects. It consists of an insect rearing system based on a breathable walled container, where the insects and their breeding substrate are confined inside. The system is especially useful for the fattening of high production insect larvae, where high gas exchange rates are needed. The invention makes it possible to greatly increase production with low energy consumption. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Equipment and system for breeding insects

The present invention refers to an insect larvae fattening system, thanks to which an increase in production is achieved while reducing energy consumption, thus allowing a more economical, simple and efficient production.

Background of the invention

The breeding of insects for the production of proteins has been gaining importance in recent years, especially since population growth is reaching such a point that it is necessary to produce more proteins in a more sustainable way. Traditional sources of animal protein are either being overexploited (fishmeal) or are fed with unsustainable proteins, such as chicken and pigs fed soy. In this context, insect farming has been explored with great enthusiasm in recent years. Insects are much more efficient in protein production than livestock species for several reasons such as:

- They have a feed conversion ratio that can reach 1.5 or 2.5, while chickens are at 3 and pigs at 6.

- The rearing can be much more intense, allowing the production of more kg of animal biomass for each m ² of fattening facility.

- It has much shorter life cycles.

- They can feed on a wide variety of organic materials that are not used by any other type of livestock.

- Much of their biomass is usable and they do not generate unusable weight such as bones, hair or feathers of other animals.

- Their flours provide up to 85% protein of animal origin, fats for livestock feed, and other products of interest to the food, pharmaceutical or agricultural industries.

But like all new livestock, its breeding has to be industrialized, and for this, the necessary techniques and equipment have to be developed to ensure that it is efficient. In order to have an efficient development of the larvae in industrial conditions (high density of larvae), the most appropriate thing is to provide them with the optimal conditions for their development. Which has its maximum when the temperature in the body of the larva is higher than 30 ° C, the availability of diet is high, the oxygen concentration is high (or that of CO2 is low) and the humidity of the diet around 70 %. Excessive moisture in the diet or that it liquefies, produces anoxia problems at the base of the containers and a decrease in the temperature of the larvae since the water acts as a heat sink, preventing the rise of their body temperature to the optimum of developing. Provided with these optimal conditions, the larvae feed in a gregarious and frenzy (feeding nucleus) around the fresh food, making large groups that rub against each other, generating heat and producing large amounts of CO2. To compensate for the increase in temperature and CO2, the larvae have developed a cyclical behavior in which they immerse themselves in the mass of larvae to feed, in the process they raise their body temperature and they reduce their breathing capacity (due to lack of oxygen). They then move away from the power core and ascend to take in fresh air and lower their temperature and then dive back into the power core and start the cycle again. For this reason, and naturally, the larvae separate from the food nucleus when they feel a reduction in oxygen concentration or the temperature is too high. By separating from the feeding core, they consume less food and thus weight gain is reduced. Therefore, for an efficient larval fattening system, it would be desirable to have a great gas exchange, since this allows a great availability of oxygen, dissipation of toxic gases CO2, NH3, H2S among others, and dissipation of temperatures. To achieve this, some larval fattening systems use trays or containers with relatively low substrate height (about 5-10 cm thick), according to Devon Brits, the maximum height that the substrate should be for the larvae to settle. can feed efficiently is 5 cm and more preferably 3 cm. In this way, the larvae have good access to food and ascend and descend to exchange gas and temperature without producing zones of anoxia. Patent WO2016015639A1 uses a system of this type, and defends the invention of a machine that distributes the larva's diet in channels located in the ground evenly. As this system would need to occupy a large area to be able to develop the brood, this is solved by stacking containers of relatively low height and the flanks are exposed so that the gas exchange takes place, managing to occupy a large volume (therefore productive capacity) to the same surface. An example of this rearing system is found in patent US9629339, where the substrate is arranged relatively low in multiple containers, they are stacked one on top of the other in such a way as to increase the productive capacity in occupied volume. To ensure that the larvae remain in a continuous feeding frenzy, an automatic food distribution system is used on the containers, which provides food continuously. The greatest limitation of the use of these containers is that it limits the use of substrate that can be used, since if it contains too much water or is liquefied by the action of the larvae, the aforementioned inconveniences of anoxia are created at the base and reducing the core temperature.

To try to solve several problems at the same time, providing food continuously and the necessary oxygen, WO2015173450A1 describes an apparatus that extrudes diet at a point in a closed container where air is blown at a pressure higher than the atmospheric one that provides the necessary oxygen. . In any case, said invention does not seem to solve the problems of the liquefaction of the substrate, nor the generation of anoxic spots inside the container, which is also not designed to be able to clean it frequently. In addition, it creates a dependency on aeration systems that in the event of failure could ruin the entire brood, not to mention the investment required to create such closed reactors.

In another larval fattening system described in patent ES2331452A1, an aeration system is provided from the bottom of a container, where residues are added continuously and larvae that eat said residues. The proposed system requires energy, in addition to not preventing compaction problems that prevent an efficient and homogeneous distribution of air from the base to the top of the container. Similarly, invention US20130206071A1 also describes a rearing container with a fabric cover that allows the air injected from the sides of the closed container to escape.

In any case, all the systems discussed always have the drawback of requiring a relatively high investment and dependence on the energy supply. In the present invention, a new rearing system and equipment is detailed that makes it possible to rearing insect larvae in a high density and productivity without requiring an energy supply, to maintain said productivity.

Description of the invention

This patent describes a system and equipment that uses walls that allow gas exchange between the rearing substrate and the outside. Where the material of the walls can be flexible or rigid, but preferably flexible. Where said flexible material of the walls is any material that allows breathability but preferably a fabric or a non-woven. The tissue pore can be of any size, but preferably of a size that allows maximum gas exchange without the larvae escaping from the container. Where the pore size can be from 5 microns to 5 mm, but more preferably between 100 microns and 3 mm, and more preferably between 200 microns and 2 mm. Where to keep the material of the breathable walls in a concrete form a rigid or semi-rigid structure is used that gives shape to the container. Where said rigid or semi-rigid structure can be built in any material that has said desired rigidity properties, such as steel, iron, polyester fibers, wood, concrete, plastic materials or any other construction material. With such a rigid structure, a container of any dimension can be created, which allows it to be covered with breathable material in such a way that containers of any size are created, in length, width and height. An example would be a rearing container 50 m long by 1.5 meters wide by 0.12 m high; Another example would be a rearing container 150 m long by 5 meters wide by 0.10 m high. Where, thanks to the containment structure and the material of the walls, it is possible to build containers stacked on several levels, one on top of the other, in such a way that more fattening volume can be used and thus produce more kg of larvae per m2 of farm .

Thanks to this invention, the problems of the previous systems are eliminated, such as excess humidity and anoxia in certain points of the rearing system. For example, the rearing container never accumulates excess moisture in the base or retains liquefied material, since when the rearing substrate has excess moisture, the excess water drips down balancing the excess, in addition to the simple the fact of allowing gas exchange, reduces the accumulation of water by evaporation. Advantageously, by allowing gas exchange between all the walls and more particularly the lower wall, oxygenation of said lower zones is allowed, making it possible for the larvae to have access to said volume and thereby becoming more efficient in food consumption. They also allow the creation of containers with a greater depth of the substrate, such as from 0.3 cm to 50 cm, more preferably from 3 cm to 25 cm and more preferably between 5 cm and 18 cm, where the preferred height is between 8 and 10 cm.

For this, the system describes a rearing container, whose walls perspire on all its faces (lower, lateral and upper) allowing a passive gas exchange. As described in this patent, said faces can be made of any material that transpires, such as woven and non-woven; cellulose-based manufactured materials such as paper, cardboard; Modified continuous plastic materials such as micro-perforated plastics; meshes of various materials such as steel, polymers; polymer films and membranes as membranes as long as they have been modified to allow gas exchange through pores, such as PVC, HDP, latex and derivatives; silicone membranes that allow gas exchange by itself. It is understood that any material that allows perspiration, either because it has pores in a natural way or because the pores have been practiced to perform the function of gas exchange. It is also understood that the pore size of the material should be large enough to allow exchange but not so large that the larvae contained in said container escape from the bottom, side or top.

The equipment described here has many advantages in the rearing of dipterans, simplifying this remarkably and reducing the complications that appear in the production of insects.

Among others, the following stand out: It allows the aeration of the breeding system; prevents the appearance of mold and diseases; allows the transmission of air, but not the loss of leachate; preserves useful substrate moisture while preventing excess; avoids the generation of several solid-liquid phases; promotes the proliferation of beneficial microorganisms in the process of assimilation of nutrients and composting; It favors the formation of a soft substrate; favors the distribution of larvae in the substrate, reducing competition; It favors that the larvae reach lower levels taking advantage of the entire volume of the substrate; favors the mixtures of various residues; allows the installation of different sizes of holes in the fabric, adapted to the waste or by-product to be treated; allows the inoculation of substances and microorganisms through the fabric that improve access and use of waste, both probiotic promoters of insects, growth promoters. In addition to the aforementioned advantages, there are another series of advantages that improve the industrialization of insects thanks to the fact that the walls of the container can be sensed so that readings of the state of development of the population can be obtained through the measurement of vibration to measure the amount of larval biomass present, stage of development, core temperature and net temperature.

Brief description of the drawings

For a better understanding of what is described in the present specification, some drawings are attached in which, just by way of example, a practical case of the type of container for the rearing of insect larvae is represented as described in this patent .

In said drawings, figure 1 is a sketch with a perspective view of a rearing container; Figure 2 is a plan view of a rearing system and its section A-A in elevation; Figure 3 is a perspective sketch of the organization of the stacked rearing containers; Figure 4 shows Table 1 and graphs of the results of the productivity tests.

Description of a preferred configuration

The patent described here presents a series of advantages in the production and fattening of insect larvae when compared to other types of rearing systems. The following is EXAMPLE-1, which represents by way of example one of the possible configurations of the container. With the intention of demonstrating the productive qualities, a couple of the tests that were carried out during the development of the patent are also described in EXAMPLE-2 and EXAMPLE-3.

EXAMPLE 1. Basic configuration of the fattening system

A simple configuration for the fattening system would consist of a rigid metallic structure, with a container made up of a 0.7-mm light plastic mesh containment structure. The mesh adapts to the structure, forming the walls that will contain the food and the larvae, being able to use tensioners, clamping clamps, thermowelding, and / or omega profiles for holding and tensioning. Then the food is added, being able to occupy all the space provided by the structure, and which will serve as a nutritional supply for the larvae. Insect larvae, of the chosen size and age, but preferably larvae between 2 and 5 days after emergence, can be placed either directly on the food, or using an adaptation substrate. The larvae will consume the food, which can be arranged on one or more occasions, until they reach the size or the desired stage of development. Finally, the insects can be collected directly or indirectly from the containment structure.

EXAMPLE-2. Fattening system thermal capacity

To test how the rearing container improves the environmental and welfare conditions of the animals, this trial was developed comparing containers with perspiring walls with containers with non-breathable walls. Two treatments were configured: one of them using plastic mesh with a 0.21 mm2 opening as a containment structure (container with breathable walls), and another using 800-gauge plastic (container with non-breathable walls). In both treatments, a temperature probe was installed at the bottom of the fattening system, to measure the substrate temperature, and a temperature probe in the room, to obtain the ambient temperature. In the course of larval development of Hermetia illucens larvae, 5-day-old larvae were used as initial inoculum, and restaurant residues as food.

During the fattening phase in both treatments, the room temperature was kept at 26 ° C during the night, and at 32 ° C during the day, always at a constant humidity of 65%. The mesh container provided stable temperatures between 34.5 and 35 ° C, throughout the fattening period, during the day and night. The temperature of the substrate in the plastic container fluctuated between 32.5 ° C and 38 ° C, in the day and night cycles. The mesh container showed a great capacity for temperature compensation in extreme conditions, maintaining stable interior temperatures, while the plastic container reacted to changes in environmental temperature, varying the temperature of the substrate, and affecting the development, health and capacity of acquisition of nutrients from the larvae, and causing a bioconversion ratio 4.7% lower than the mesh container, and a higher energy cost.

EXAMPLE-3. Complete example

To test how the productive capacity of the breathable rearing container is increased compared to the non-breathable rearing container, a rigid metallic structure was configured as a support system, of two different containers: one using plastic mesh of 0.21 mm2 of light, and another using 800 gauge clear plastic. In these containers a diet based on restaurant remains was poured, which were ground so that there were no fragments greater than 3 mm, enough to provide 120,000 5-day-old Hermetia illucens larvae, with a feeding ratio of 95.9 mg. / L / day. The conditions of the room were stable throughout the cycle, staying at 30 ° C and 65% relative humidity. The larvae developed in both containers, until the moment when there were 20% of prepupae formed, and the experiment was concluded. The larval biomass was separated from the compost generated by the larvae during the digestion of the food, using an orbital sieve.

The development in both treatments was completed in 12.3 days on average, in which it was expected to collect 25 Kg of fresh larval biomass from both treatments. In the mesh containers a total fresh biomass of 24.5 Kg was obtained, while in the plastic containers the average amounted to 14.0 Kg. After the end of the experiment, a Bioconversion ratio of 16.2% was obtained in the mesh container, and 10.3% in the plastic one (56.8% less). The FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) in the mesh container was 1.6 on average (Table 1) and 2.5 for the plastic. The mesh container therefore showed a more efficient feed intake, and a higher assimilation into larval biomass (bioconversion). The percentage of substrate reduction was similar between both treatments, with a difference of only 3.26%. However, proportionally, the plastic bed produced a greater amount of compost at the end of the process (16.2% more), evidencing the improvement in the efficiency of the process in the mesh container. The ECI (Efficiency of Conversion of Ingested Food) and the PER (Protein Efficiency Ratio) were 64.3% better in the treatment with the mesh container, than in the treatment with the plastic container.

The following lines describe an insect larvae rearing container, its parts, and by way of example we proceed to describe the drawings described in the present patent.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sketch with a perspective view of a rearing container. Where there is a metal structure (1), which acts as a rigid support for the container (2) itself. The container (2) is made up of a nylon fabric with a 15x20 thread weave (2a), which, being flexible, adapts to the shape of the metal structure (1), forming an open box at the top. Clips (3) are used to hold the fabric in place, hugging the fabric to the frame tube (1a). The tissue of the container allows a gaseous exchange across its entire surface while confining both the brood substrate and the larvae to the brood container (4). To allow air movement under the containers, the structure is separated from the lower surface by means of supports or legs (1b).

Figure 2 is a plan view and section A-A of the plant of a rearing container, where it is seen how the flexible nylon fabric container (2a) adjusts to the shape of the metallic structure (1). In order for the container to remain flat at the bottom, the metal structure has horizontal reinforcements (1b) that support the weight and a metal mesh (1c) that guarantee the hold of the lower part and support it flat while not interfering. with gas exchange.

Figure 3 shows how the basic structure unit (1) can be stacked one on top of the other, so that the productive capacity per plant can be increased, while the production can be operated and the air can circulate fluidly between the stacked containers.

Claims (5)

1. Insect rearing equipment and system based on a rearing and fattening container, used in the industrial production of these in any of its applications, both in the reduction of organic waste and in the production of raw materials from insects . 2. Where the larvae rearing and fattening container is characterized by having breathable walls that allow gas and liquid exchange, while confining the larvae from their breeding and feeding substrate. 3. Where said walls can be rigid or flexible depending on the specific needs of the breeding and additionally a rigid structure can be used as a support for the containers to give it a specific shape. 4. The rearing container can be used for a variety of insects and more particularly for the rearing of Diptera and more specifically for the rearing of the stratomydae family. 5. The materials of the container can be of any nature such as metal, plastics, composites, wood, paper, silicones, or a combination of them as long as its walls are breathable, either because they are woven forming pores, the holes have been made. or its microscopic structure is porous allowing perspiration.