Entomatisation

Insects are becoming an increasingly important source of protein, not only for human food but also as animal feed, so they are a more sustainable alternative. However, replacing soy proteins in animal feed or meat proteins in human food will only be feasible if these insects can be bred at the same or a lower price. this requires scaling up. Many entrepreneurs currently have small installations where mealworms or larvae are grown. this project looks at how these installations can be automated and tons of mealworms can be grown instead of kilos.

Keywords:business optimization, biotechnology, animals, food

Disciplines:Sustainable development, Manufacturing automation

Project type:Collaboration project

Results:The general objectives of this project are on the one hand to optimize the breeding process of the mealworms and on the other hand to reduce the workload in this labour-intensive cultivation by means of various automation options. The main focus is on an automatic feeding line for breeding mealworms. Edible insects have been seen as a sustainable alternative source of protein in Europe for several years now. However, insect breeding is still in the start-up phase and can be improved in many areas in order to obtain a high-quality and affordable end product. The project consortium, led by Hogeschool VIVES, submitted a project application for this to VLAIO. After approval, the Entomatisation project started in October 2016. Thanks to the support of VLAIO, the optimal breeding conditions for the mealworms were investigated, so that advice can be given to achieve a higher yield by taking into account the temperature, humidity and light in the growing rooms, but also the population density and life phase of the mealworms . Research was also done into the optimal working conditions in the breeding rooms of the mealworms, as this new sector can provoke an allergy in a high-risk group. The entire mealworm breeding process was also examined to determine which processes are the most time-consuming. Based on this, the separation of the different life stages of the mealworm was tackled, using existing and adapted techniques. As icing on the cake, an automatic feeding line for mealworms was developed in close consultation with growers and automation companies, with an average production of 50 to 100 tons of mealworms per year.