GB2621888A

GB2621888A - A Biological Product

Info

Publication number: GB2621888A
Application number: GB2212443.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Cartwright Paul
Original assignee: Ecoinsect Ltd
Current assignee: Ecoinsect Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-26
Filing date: 2022-08-26
Publication date: 2024-02-28
Also published as: GB202212443D0

Abstract

A biological product produced by: providing a container that contains insect larvae; adding to the container at pre-determined intervals a feedstock comprising vegetable matter selected from tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries and combinations thereof; and collecting a liquid bioleachate product from the container. There is an apparatus for producing the bioleachate product comprising an insect larvae container located upon a liquid bioloeachate collector, wherein the insect larvae container includes one or more drain holes disposed in a floor portion and which is in fluid communication with the liquid bioloeachate collector. Preferably the insect larvae comprise fly larvae. The feedstock may further comprise a cereal component such as brewers spent grain, and a bulking agent such as shredded straw. Moisture content can be increased with the addition of water, and the feedstock may be aerated at predetermined intervals.

Description

A Biological Product The present invention relates to a biological product and, in particular, to a biological product in the form of a liquid fraction of excreta from insect larvae. The invention also relates to an apparatus for harvesting the liquid excreta and to a process for obtaining it.

In the context of the present invention, the term "bioleachate" is used to refer to the liquid fraction of excreta from insect larvae.

Typically, most insect larvae production processes are primarily focussed on the livestock feed sector. This requires the processing of the larvae via drying, defatting and milling the larvae. The products from the process include larvae frass (solid waste products) and larvae oil.

However, a liquid excreta product is not harvested or collected from the larvae.

It has been found that if the larvae are fed on a high-liquid content vegetable-based feedstock, then a liquid excreta product (bioleachate) is produced and may be collected.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a bioleachate product produced by the following method: a) Providing a container that contains insect larvae; b) Adding to the container at pre-determined intervals a feedstock comprising vegetable matter selected from tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries and combinations thereof; c) Collecting a liquid bioleachate product from the container.

The vegetable matter are all relatively high-water content vegetable feedstock that is processed by the insect larvae to produce the bioleachate. Furthermore, the vegetable matter suitably does not contain hard stones or other indigestible portions. Accordingly, the insects are able to consume substantially all of the vegetable matter. As the insect larvae are not particularly fussy, vegetable matter that would otherwise be composted as not suitable for human consumption may be used in the feedstock. Thus, the feedstock may comprise a waste product, which reduces the costs of the feedstock.

The vegetable matter of the feedstock suitably comprises tomatoes. Tomatoes are slightly acidic (i.e., have a pH that is slightly below 7) and this may be beneficial to the bioleachate product produced.

The bioleachate production process may result in additional products to the leachate. For example, it may also result in live larvae that may be used as a food source for other animals, such as, for example, poultry. Furthermore, in addition to the bioleachate, the processing of the feedstock by the insect larvae may result in a solid waste product, herein referred to as a "biocompost" product.

The bioleachate product may be used as a biostimulant for crops and other agricultural or horticultural products. Additionally, the biocompost material may have water-holding properties that are similar to peat, thereby providing an alternative material to natural peat taken from peat bogs.

The insect larvae are suitably fly larvae. Fly larvae have a lifespan that is suitable for the process of the invention and are able to produce acceptable quantities of bioleachate from the vegetable matter-based feedstock. Additionally, live fly larvae may be used as a food source for poultry. For example, the fly larvae may be black soldier fly larvae.

In an embodiment of the invention, the feedstock further includes a cereal component. The cereal component suitably provides a balanced diet to maximise the growth of the insect larvae. The cereal component may also use a waste product, such as brewers spent grain (BSG), which is a waste product from the brewing industry. This again minimises the cost of the feedstock.

The cereal component of the feedstock may provide benefits in terms of the health of the insect larvae, the composition of the bioleachate product and the composition of the biocompost product.

A bulking agent may also form part of the feedstock. The bulking agent may control the rate of flow of liquid within the container; increase the liquid holding capacity of the feedstock; increase the level of aeration within the container; and/or control the temperature within the container. With regard to the latter point, the microbial and larvae activity within the container increases with increasing aeration. Accordingly, if the level of aeration is increased, then the temperature within the container may also increase.

The bulking agent is suitable shredded straw or a similar material.

In order to collect the bioleachate product, the or each container may include one or more drain holes. The or each drain hole is suitably defined by a floor portion of the container. In this way, the bioleachate product may drain through the container and out of the or a respective one of the drain holes under the action of gravity.

It may be desired to avoid contaminant solid material within the bioleachate product. Accordingly, the or each drain hole may have associated with it a filter medium, which filters out the solid material entrained within the liquid product.

The rate of production of the bioleachate product may be dependent upon the moisture level within the container. Accordingly, the moisture content within the container may be increased by the addition of water to the container at predetermined intervals.

As noted above, aeration of the feedstock material within the or each container may be beneficial. Accordingly, the method may include the step of aerating the feedstock material within the or each container. For example, the method may further include the step of agitating the feedstock within the container at pre-determined times or intervals or in relation to certain properties sensed within the container, such as moisture levels or temperatures.

The feedstock may be added to the container twice a day, once a day, once every two days, once every three days, once every four days, once every five days, or when needed.

The feedstock may comprise additional vegetable matter. The vegetable matter is suitably shredded prior to being blended with additional feedstock components, such as a cereal product and/or a bulking agent. Accordingly, the components of the feedstock may be blended together prior to the addition of the feedstock to the container.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for producing a bioleachate product, the apparatus including an insect larvae container located upon a liquid bioleachate collector, wherein the insect larvae container includes one or more drain holes disposed in a floor portion thereof and the or each drain hole is in fluid communication with the liquid bioleachate collector.

It will be appreciated that the insect larvae container suitably contains within it the insect larvae and the feedstock. As noted above, the insect larvae may be fly larvae.

The liquid bioleachate collector collects the bioleachate product and may be emptied periodically to remove the bioleachate product.

In an embodiment of the invention, the apparatus includes two or more insect larvae containers stacked on the liquid bioleachate collector, wherein each of the insect larvae containers are in fluid communication with the container or collector directly beneath it. Thus, the uppermost insect larvae container is in fluid communication with the container located directly beneath it and the lowermost insect larvae container is in fluid communication with the liquid bioleachate collector located directly beneath it. In embodiments in which the stack includes more than two insect larvae containers, each of the intermediate insect larvae containers (i.e., those disposed between the uppermost and lowermost containers) are in fluid communication with the container immediately above it and immediately below it.

In this embodiment, the bioleachate product flows down through the stack of insect containers until it reaches the liquid bioleachate collector.

The feedstock located within the or each container may be as described and defined above in connection with the first aspect of the invention.

Also as noted above, the or each drain hole is suitable a filtered drain hole. Accordingly, the or each drain hole may have associated with it a filter medium.

The insect larvae container are suitably open at their top. This permits the easy addition of the feedstock to the container. However, this also permits the insect larvae to escape from the containers within which they were originally placed. This may be a desired feature of the apparatus, as it permits the rotation of the insect larvae within the container(s). Furthermore, the escaped insect larvae may be trapped and used as live food, for example, in the poultry industry. In order to trap the escaped insect larvae, the stack of containers and bioleachate collector may be disposed upon a platform and the platform may include one or more insect traps which prevent the insect larvae escaping from the platform. Thus, the apparatus may further include a larvae collection platform, wherein the insect larvae containers and the liquid bioleachate collector are disposed on the platform; and wherein the platform includes one or more insect larvae traps which prevent the insect larvae escaping from the platform. The insect larvae within the traps may be collected as a live animal food product. Additionally, the escaped insect larvae may be replaced periodically with fresh insect larvae to continue to cycle of bioleachate production.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a bioleachate product, the method comprising: a) providing an insect larvae container that contains insect larvae; b) adding to the insect larvae container at pre-determined intervals a feedstock comprising vegetable matter selected from tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries and combinations thereof; and c) collecting a liquid bioleachate product from the insect larvae container.

As noted above, the vegetable matter may comprise tomatoes. It may further comprise a cereal component as discussed herein in connection with the first aspect of the invention. Furthermore, it may comprise a bulking agent as discussed and defined herein.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of providing the insect larvae container includes the step of stacking two or more insect larvae containers on top of a liquid bioleachate collector to form a stack of insect larvae containers on top of the liquid bioleachate collector; wherein each insect larvae container includes one or more drain holes in a floor portion thereof.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the step of adding the feedstock to each of the insect larvae containers includes the steps of removing each insect larvae container; transporting the removed insect larvae container to a feeding station; adding the feedstock to each insect larvae container at the feeding station; and returning each insect larvae container to the stack of insect larvae containers once the feedstock has been added.

Each of the insect larvae containers may be removed from the stack by a lifting apparatus, such as a robotic manipulator, a fork lift truck or a crane. Once removed from the stack, each of the insect larvae containers may be transported to a feeding station. Once the step of adding the feedstock to the container has been completed, each container may be transported back to the stack and replaced on top of the liquid bioleachate collector. The order of the containers on top of the collector may remain the same or it may change during the step of adding the feedstock to the containers. For example, the topmost container may be removed from the stack first, but then become the lowermost container of the stack after the step of adding the feedstock to the containers.

The feeding station may include a conveyor which conveys the unstacked containers through the feeding station.

When the or each of the containers have been removed from the liquid bioleachate collector, the bioleachate collector may be emptied. Accordingly, the step of collecting the liquid bioleachate product may comprise decanting or otherwise removing the liquid bioleachate product from the liquid bioleachate collector when the or each of the insect larvae containers has been removed from the stack.

The method may further comprise the step of aerating the feedstock within the or each insect larvae container at pre-determined intervals. This may be achieved by agitating the feedstock, for example. The aeration step might be achieved before, during or after the step of adding the feedstock to the containers. Thus, the containers may be conveyed to an aeration (e.g., agitation) station either before or after that are conveyed to the feeding station. Alternatively, the feeding station may include an aeration apparatus, which aerates (e.g., agitates) the feedstock within the container while fresh feedstock is being added to the container.

In an embodiment of the invention, the or each of the insect larvae containers is conveyed to a feeding station and then conveyed to an aeration station. In this way, the freshly added feedstock is mixed with the existing contents of the containers and the resultant mixture is then aerated.

The skilled person will appreciate that fresh feedstock is added on top of existing "old" feedstock that is already contained within the container. The container has a finite capacity. According, the spent feedstock must be removed from the container periodically. In addition to the spent feedstock material, the container will also contain a solid waste product generated by the insect larvae. This spent feedstock and larvae waste product together comprises a biocompost material.

As noted above, the method suitably includes the step of removing a biocompost product from the or each insect larvae container at pre-determined intervals.

The live insect larvae that escape from the container also forms a valuable product from the method. In such instances, the insect larvae may be said to be self-harvesting. Accordingly, the method may also include the step of trapping the escaped insect larvae. This may be achieved by locating a stack of one or more insect larvae containers and a liquid bioleachate collector upon a platform, wherein the platform includes one or more insect traps. Thus, the method may include the further step of locating a stack of one or more insect larvae containers and a liquid bileachate collector upon a platform, wherein the platform includes one or more insect traps.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the or each insect larvae container may be left periodically to permit a desired portion of the insect larvae to escape from the container. Once the desired portion of the insect larvae have escaped, the biocompost material may be removed from the container. The desired portion of the insect larvae may be at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90% or at least 95% of the larvae that were in the container.

After the biocompost product has been removed from the container, the container may be recharged with insect larvae and feedstock.

The skilled person will appreciate that the features described and defined in connection with the aspects of the invention and the embodiments thereof may be combined in any combination, regardless of whether the specific combination is expressly mentioned herein. Thus, all such combinations are considered to be made available to the skilled person.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a method for producing a liquid bioleachate product according to the invention.

For the avoidance of doubt, the skilled person will appreciate that in this specification, the terms "up", "down", "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "width", etc. refer to the orientation of the components as found in the example when installed for normal use as shown in the Figures.

As shown in Figure 1, stage A, a stack comprising five insect larvae containers located vertically on a liquid bioleachate collector is stored on top of a larvae containment platform which includes a gutter trap along each edge portion thereof. The stacks are stored in an environmentally controlled room.

Each insect larvae container contains a number of black soldier fly larvae.

Every 3 days, the stack is transported to a conveyor loading bay via a forklift truck (stage B).

The stack is conveyed to a robot station (Stage D) via a conveyor system (Stage C). At the robot station (D), the individual insect larvae containers are removed from the stack and sequentially delivered to the feed dosing bays (Stage 4).

The feed dosing bays (4) are fed with a first part of a feedstock. The feedstock starts at Stage 1, where vegetable waste containing tomatoes and a cereal mixture containing brewers spent grain and additives are received at Stage 1. The vegetable waste material is shredded by a shredder in Stage 2. The shredded vegetable waste material is then blended with the cereal mixture in Stage 3 to form a blended feedstock component. The blended feedstock component is then transferred to the feed dosing bays (4).

The feed dosing bays deliver a pre-determined quantity of the blended feedstock to each insect larvae container.

The robot station (D) then transfers each of the insect larvae containers to a bulking agent and liquid station (Stage 5), where shredded straw (a second part of the feedstock) is added to each container as a bulking agent and the water content in each container is increased to a desired level.

The robot station (D) then transfers each container to an agitator (Stage 6), where the feedstock comprising the shredded vegetable waste material, the cereal material and the bulking agent are all aerated by the agitator.

The robot station (D) then transfers the liquid bioleachate collector to a tipping station (Stage 7), where the collector is tilted such that the collected liquid bioleachate is decanted into a liquid reservoir for subsequent processing.

The robot station (D) then restacks the containers on top of the liquid bioleachate collector to re-form the stack and returns the stack to the conveyor (Stage E).

The processed stack is then collected by the forklift truck (Stage F) and returned to the storage area, where the process complete. The process is repeated every 3 days.

After a period of time, the undigested matter within the containers increases, which decreases the efficiency of the process. When the volume of undigested matter within a container reaches a threshold point, it must be removed. In order to do this, the container is isolated from the stack (or a stack of containers are all isolated from the feeding process) and new feed is withheld from the container. However, the container continues to be aerated at a regular interval. The aeration process without the addition of new feed causes the black soldier fly larvae to "self-harvest", where they escape from the container(s). The escaped larvae are trapped by the larvae containment platform.

Once the a majority of the larvae have exited the container, the undigested matter is removed from the container(s). The undigested matter is dried and processed into a biocompost material.

The emptied container(s) is then recharged with fresh larvae and feedstock and the process is resumed.

Claims

Claims 1. A biological product produced by the following method: d) providing a container that contains insect larvae; e) adding to the container at pre-determined intervals a feedstock comprising vegetable matter selected from tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries and combinations thereof; and f) collecting a liquid bioleachate product from the container.
2. A biological product produced according to Claim 1, wherein insect larvae comprise fly larvae.
3. A biological product produced according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the feedstock further includes a cereal component.
4. A biological product produced according to Claim 3, wherein the cereal component comprises brewers spent grain.
5. A biological product produced according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the feedstock further includes a bulking agent.
6. A biological product produced according to Claim 5, wherein the bulking agent includes shredded straw.
7. A biological product produced according to any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the container includes one or more drain holes.
8. A biological product produced according to Claim 7, wherein the or each drain hole includes a filter medium associated therewith.
9. A biological product produced according to any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the moisture content within the container is increased by the addition of water.
10. A biological product produced according to any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the method further includes the step of aerating the feedstock within the container at pre-determined intervals.
11. An apparatus for producing a bioleachate product, the apparatus including an insect larvae container located upon a liquid bioleachate collector, wherein the insect larvae container includes one or more drain holes disposed in a floor portion thereof and the or each drain hole is in fluid communication with the liquid bioleachate collector.
12. An apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein the apparatus includes two or more insect larvae containers stacked on the liquid bioleachate collector, wherein each of the insect larvae containers are in fluid communication with the container or collector directly beneath it.
13. An apparatus according to Claim 11 or Claim 12, wherein the or each insect larvae container contains insect larvae.
14. An apparatus according to Claim 13, wherein the insect larvae are fly larvae.
15. An apparatus according to any of Claims 11 to 14, wherein the or each insect larvae container further contains a feedstock, wherein the feedstock includes vegetable matter selected from tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries and combinations thereof.
16. An apparatus according to Claim 15, wherein the feedstock further includes cereal component and optionally a bulking agent, wherein the cereal component optionally comprises brewers spent grain; and wherein the bulking agent, where present, optionally includes shredded straw.
17. An apparatus according to any of Claims 11 to 16, wherein the or each drain hole includes a filter medium associated with it.
18. An apparatus according to any of Claims 12 to 17, wherein the apparatus further includes a larvae collection platform, wherein the insect larvae containers and the liquid bioleachate collector are disposed on the platform; and wherein the platform includes one or more insect larvae traps which prevent the insect larvae escaping from the platform.
19. A method for producing a biological product, the method comprising: d) providing an insect larvae container that contains insect larvae; e) adding to the insect larvae container at pre-determined intervals a feedstock comprising vegetable matter selected from tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries and combinations thereof; f) collecting a liquid bioleachate product from the insect larvae container.
20. A method according to Claim 19, wherein the step of providing the insect larvae container includes the step of stacking two or more insect larvae containers on top of a liquid bioleachate collector to form a stack of insect larvae containers on top of the liquid bioleachate collector; wherein each insect larvae container includes one or more drain holes in a floor portion thereof.
21. A method according to Claim 20, wherein the step of adding the feedstock to each of the insect larvae containers includes the steps of removing each insect larvae container; transporting the removed insect larvae container to a feeding station; adding the feedstock to each insect larvae container at the feeding station; and returning each insect larvae container to the stack of insect larvae containers once the feedstock has been added.
22. A method according to Claim 21, wherein the step of collecting the liquid bioleachate product comprises decanting the liquid bioleachate product from the liquid bioleachate collector when the insect larvae containers have been removed from the stack.
23. A method according to any of Claims 19 to 22, wherein the method further includes the step of aerating the feedstock within the or each insect larvae container at pre-determined intervals.
24. A method according to Claim 23, wherein the step of aerating the feedstock within the or each insect larvae container is carried out after the feedstock has been added.
25. A method according to any of Claims 19 to 24, wherein the method further comprises removing a biocompost product from the or each insect larvae container at pre-determined intervals.