Bioreactor for insect mass rearing

The drum bioreactors apply fed-batch technology and low-cost automation for cultivation of black soldier fly larvae.

Insect protein production has been recognized highly promising by WHO, which have stated that the hindrance is lack of advanced technology. Now, Entoprot’s invention could correct this at one blow. This is the first real bioreactor for insect mass rearing with full automation and precise control of the bioprocess. The industry uses presently old dated and clumsy stacked boxes systems, which need highly expensive, extra robot systems to be productive, and the quality of produce is still low, growing conditions vary from box to box, leading to loss of produce. Need for manual labor is high despite robot systems. Feed conversion rate is poor.

Due to low cost automation and precise control of the bioprocess, plus the good feed conversion rate, Entoprot’s  bioreactors helps to reduce the production cost of insect meal below the price of the present standard feed additive, fish meal. Insect meal will be the new standard, it has enormous business potential in world market, Entoprot’s bioreactors enable production of the quantities needed for world market. Due to genuine scalability, now small and midsized insect factories can be productive, bring profits, enabling local production in areas which offer agricultural biomasses to be used as feed  for larvae, or near food factories where the side streams can be valorised to animal protein (and oils, chitin and frass). Presently, only huge central factories (using the old stacked boxes principle) build with massive investments can be productive. Entoprot’s bioreactors will  be scaled up in size to 10 – 20 cubic meter inner volume, producing 4,5 – 9 tons of larvae per run, in 10 days, human labour needed is only  6 - 8 hours per run.