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Effectiveness of black soldier fly larvae in composting mercury contaminated organic waste
Open accessAbstract
Black soldier fly larvae composting has been the new composting technology fast rising in most developing countries. Each larva can consume up to 200 mg of food waste per day as well as possessing the ability to accumulate and remove some toxic substances from compost. This research studied the effect of composting organic waste containing heavy metals, mercury (Hg) in particular using the black soldier fly larvae. Organic food wastes (cooked rice, uncooked yam, and vegetables) mixed with chicken faecal matter and sawdust were dosed with varying concentrations of mercury salt of 1000 mg, 2000 mg and 3000 mg. 100, 200 and 300 larvae were then introduced to the dosed samples for 13 days period during which they were studied. Triplicates of each sample were analysed at the laboratory, it was observed that the rate of removal of mercury from the compost was relatively proportional to the number of larvae in the sample. Larvae were able to accumulate a reasonable amount of mercury from the sample. Mercury levels in the compost after the 13th day were noted to be below the European Union's (EU's) threshold values of 0.7–10 mg Hg/kg. NPK analysis also proved that the compost was high in the required nutrient to support plant growth.
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“The high macronutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K)), micronutrient, and organic matter content of frass are all readily available for agricultural use [90,91].”
From A Review of Organic Waste Treatment Using Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) (2022) · cites this paper as [91]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“The physicochemical characteristics of BSFL frass are as follows: the temperature after harvest is 24 °C to 27 °C, pH is 5.6–8.0, moisture content is 30 to 72%, C/N ratio is 8:1 to 27:1, high nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) content, and low heavy metal content.”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“BSFL frass is harvested after 9–23 days of the experiment, depending on the substrate used in the composting process.”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Previous studies show that large quantities of mercury have been added to the BSFL feedstock to be observed in a 13-day experiment and resulting in low mercury levels in the BSFL frass and were noted to be below the European Union’s (EU’s) threshold values of 0.7–10 mg Hg/kg [20].”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Frass is a compost-like material [19] and has the characteristics of immature compost [20,21,22].”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“The rapid composting of organic waste by BSFL produced compacted BSFL frass with high macronutrients (NPK), micronutrients, and organic matter contents that are readily available for agricultural use [19,20,25,30].”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Studies on the quality of BSFL frass as organic fertiliser revealed a significant increase in NPK concentrations and a considerable reduction in heavy metals to the acceptable levels set by the regulatory authorities [13,20,25,30].”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“BSFL frass has shown similar results in performing as organic fertiliser, even by feeding BSFL to different type of substrates: organic municipal solid waste [30]; food waste [3,13,20]; manure [3,21]; brewery spent grains [38]; mixture of poultry, brewery waste, and green market waste [17]; mixture of pig manure, dog food, and human faeces [55]; and fermented maize straw [25].”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“When food waste contaminated with mercury was used as a substrate, the BSFL frass harvested after 13 days of composting treatment had a mercury level below the European Union’s (EU’s) threshold value of 0.7–10 mg Hg/kg [20].”
From Potential Applications of Frass Derived from Black Soldier Fly Larvae Treatment of Food Waste: A Review (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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Citations
Cites
Research works printed but not linked: 14
- Bondari, 1981, Soldier fly larvae as feed in commercial fish production, Aquaculture, 24, 103, 10.1016/0044-8486(81)90047-8 · DOI
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- Diener, 2016, Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the black soldier fly, Hermetia Illuces and the effects on its life cycle, J. Insects Food Feed, 1, 261, 10.3920/JIFF2015.0030 · DOI · Paper page
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- Khater, 2015, Some physical and chemical properties of compost, Int. J. Waste Resour., 5, 10.4172/2252-5211.1000172 · DOI
- Liu, 2008, Black soldier fly (Diptera: stratiomydiae) larvae reduce Escherichia coli in dairy manure, Environ. Entomol., 37, 1525, 10.1603/0046-225X-37.6.1525 · DOI · Paper page
- McCarthy, 2016, The countries winning the recycling race [Infographic], Forbes Bus.
- Newton, 1977, Dried Hermetia illucens larvae meal as a supplement for swine, J. Anim. Sci., 44, 395, 10.2527/jas1977.443395x · DOI
- Purschke, 2017, Impact of substrate contamination with mycotoxins, heavy metals and pesticides on growth performance and composition of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) for use in the feed and food value chain, Food Addit. Contam.: Part A. Chem. Anal. Control Expo Risk Assess., 34, 1410, 10.1080/19440049.2017.1299946 · DOI
- Richard, 1992, Municipal solid waste composting: physical and biological processing, Biomass Bioenergy, 3, 163, 10.1016/0961-9534(92)90024-K · DOI
- Sheppard, 2002, Rearing methods for the black soldier fly (Diptera: stratiomyidae), J. Med. Entomol., 39, 695, 10.1603/0022-2585-39.4.695 · DOI · Paper page
- The World Bank, 2012. What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management. , p. 98.ri
- Zurbrügg, 2015, Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens and effects on its life cycle, J. Insects Food Feed, 1, 261, 10.3920/JIFF2015.0030 · DOI · Paper page
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A Review of Organic Waste Treatment Using Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens)
Amrul, N. F., Kabir Ahmad, I., Ahmad Basri, N. E., Suja, F., Abdul Jalil, N. A., & Azman, N. A. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su14084565 · Cited by 185
“The high macronutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K)), micronutrient, and organic matter content of frass are all readily available for agricultural use [90,91].”
BackgroundBasri, N. E. A., Azman, N. A., Ahmad, I. K., Suja, F., Jalil, N. A. A., & Amrul, N. F. (2022) · Foods · doi:10.3390/foods11172664 · Cited by 119
“BSFL frass is usually harvested after 9–23 days of BSFL composting, depending on the type of waste used [3,11,20,23,24].”
BackgroundMethod
Metadata
- Authors
- Attiogbe, F. K., Ayim, N. Y. K., & Martey, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Energy and Natural Resources (GH)
- Corresponding author
- Attiogbe, Francis K.
- Venue
- Scientific African
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-11
- Volume
- 6
- Pages
- e00205
- ISSN
- 2468-2276 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2981074680
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4
- FWCI
- 2.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Scientific African (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Greater South Information System
- Funders
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Composting and Vermicomposting Techniques
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Insect Utilization and Effects
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies
- Keywords
- black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens, mercury removal, heavy metal contamination, organic waste, food waste, chicken feces, sawdust, larval density, mercury accumulation, compost quality, NPK nutrients
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