Bioconversion of Different Waste Streams of Animal and Vegetal Origin and Manure by Black Soldier Fly Larvae L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are considered a commercially viable solution for global organic waste problems. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of rearing BSFL on a wide range of low-value waste streams and its potential to transform them into high-quality animal feed and fertilizer. Six waste streams of different origins were selected and each tested in triplicate.

Bioconversion of Digestate, Pig Manure and Vegetal Residue-Based Waste Operated by Black Soldier Fly Larvae, L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

Insects can play an important role to upgrade waste streams into high-grade proteins and fats as food and feed ingredients or non-food products. The aim of this research was to assess the feasibility to use waste streams with a low value for direct application as animal feed as substrates to grow BSF larvae in terms of larval growth rate, waste reduction index, and efficiency of conversion of ingested feed. The growth of black soldier fly (BSF), larvae and conversion of biowaste was assessed in triplicate in biowaste substrates: chicken feed (CF; reference diet), pig manure solid (PMS), Betafert solid (BTFS), swill (SW), olive pulp (OP), pig manure liquid mixed with chicken feed (PMLCF), and silage grass (SG).

Can aquatic worms enhance methane production from waste activated sludge?

Although literature suggests that aquatic worms can help to enhance the methane production from excess activated sludge, clear evidence for this is missing. Therefore, anaerobic digestion tests were performed at 20 and at 30°C with sludge from a high-loaded membrane bioreactor, the aquatic worm Lumbriculus variegatus, feces from these worms and with mixtures of these substrates. A significant synergistic effect of the worms or their feces on methane production from the high-loaded sludge or on its digestion rate was not observed.

Agar Sediment Test for Assessing the Suitability of Organic Waste Streams for Recovering Nutrients by the Aquatic Worm Lumbriculus variegatus.

An agar sediment test was developed to evaluate the suitability of organic waste streams from the food industry for recovering nutrients by the aquatic worm Lumbriculus variegatus (Lv). The effects of agar gel, sand, and food quantities in the sediment test on worm growth, reproduction, and water quality were studied. Agar gel addition ameliorated growth conditions by reducing food hydrolysis and altering sediment structure.

Operation of an aquatic worm reactor suitable for sludge reduction at large scale.

Treatment of domestic waste water results in the production of waste sludge, which requires costly further processing. A biological method to reduce the amount of waste sludge and its volume is treatment in an aquatic worm reactor. The potential of such a worm reactor with the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus has been shown at small scale.

Aquatic worms eat sludge: mass balances and processing of worm faeces.

Reduction of the amount of waste sludge from waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) can be achieved with the aquatic worm Lumbriculus variegatus in a new reactor concept. In addition to reducing the amount of waste sludge, further processing of produced worm faeces and released nutrients should also be considered. This study gives the mass balances for sludge consumed by L.

Design parameters for sludge reduction in an aquatic worm reactor.

Reduction and compaction of biological waste sludge from waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) can be achieved with the aquatic worm Lumbriculus variegatus. In our reactor concept for a worm reactor, the worms are immobilised in a carrier material. The size of a worm reactor will therefore mainly be determined by the sludge consumption rate per unit of surface area.

Aquatic worms grown on biosolids: biomass composition and potential applications.

The increasing production of biological waste sludge from wastewater treatment plants is a problem, because stricter legislation inhibits the use of traditional disposal methods. The use of the aquatic worm Lumbriculus variegatus can minimise sludge production. Because the worms can feed and grow on this waste sludge, valuable compounds that are present in the sludge can be recovered by the worms.

Aquatic worms eating waste sludge in a continuous system.

Aquatic worms are a biological approach to decrease the amount of biological waste sludge produced at waste water treatment plants. A new reactor concept was recently introduced in which the aquatic oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus is immobilised in a carrier material. The current paper describes the experiments that were performed to test whether this concept could also be applied in continuous operation, for which worm growth is an important condition.

The effect of operating conditions on aquatic worms eating waste sludge.

Several techniques are available for dealing with the waste sludge produced in biological waste water treatment. A biological approach uses aquatic worms to consume and partially digest the waste sludge. In our concept for a worm reactor, the worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) are immobilised in a carrier material.

Development of a test method to assess the sludge reduction potential of aquatic organisms in activated sludge.

This article shows the development of a quantitative sludge reduction test method, which uses the sludge consuming aquatic worm Lumbriculus variegatus (Oligochaeta, Lumbriculidae). Essential for the test are sufficient oxygen supply and the presence of a non-stirred layer of sludge for burrowing of the organisms. The test eliminates the unwanted effects of the organisms' movements, so-called bioturbation, on oxygen transport and (therefore) on sludge reduction.

A new reactor concept for sludge reduction using aquatic worms.

Biological waste water treatment results in the production of waste sludge. The final treatment option in The Netherlands for this waste sludge is usually incineration. A biological approach to reduce the amount of waste sludge is through predation by aquatic worms.

Coexistence of a sulphate-reducing Desulfovibrio species and the dehalorespiring Desulfitobacterium frappieri TCE1 in defined chemostat cultures grown with various combinations of sulfate and tetrachloroethene.

A two-member co-culture consisting of the dehalorespiring Desulfitobacterium frappieri TCE1 and the sulphate-reducing Desulfovibrio sp. strain SULF1 was obtained via anaerobic enrichment from soil contaminated with tetrachloroethene (PCE). In this co-culture, PCE dechlorination to cis-dichloroethene was due to the activity of the dehalorespiring bacterium only.