Preliminary project design (PPD) is an initial stage in project development that makes it possible for an entopreneur to gain insight into the feasibility and potential profitability of setting up an insect production facility. In this paper a simple, spreadsheet-based model is presented to facilitate the first step of PPD by estimating the overall mass and energy balances for a proposed project. The model calculates outputs on the basis of scientific data and estimated values for operating parameters for the system that is proposed. With the model it is easy to use a trial-and-error approach to investigate the effect of different parameter values on system operation. Thus, the entopreneur can enter values for parameters such as feed composition, temperature of the cooling air, etc. and see the effect on system productivity, conversion efficiency, energy requirements, etc. immediately. This facilitates the overall procedure of reaching final decisions about the organism, the feed, the processing approach, the scale of operation, etc. Normally, this is an iterative procedure that is based on ‘trial-and-error’, the two aspects being referred to here as the ‘twin components of an iterative knowledge engine’. Thus, the outputs from the model will depend very much on the scientific data supplied and the values of the input parameters while, at the same time, use of the model will highlight what additional scientific data is needed and what alternate parameter values might prove profitable. Overall, the model allows the user to explore a large possibility space for both process constitution and operation much more quickly and easily than by experimental means alone. As such, it is a tool that can aid the entopreneur in thinking about a project and considering various alternatives, as well as in making decisions before a major commitment is made to any particular option. It is stressed here that PPD is only a preliminary stage in project development and that the investigation of overall process mass and energy balances is only the first step thereof. It is also stressed that results from modelling are invariably subject to empirical verification as well as ‘common-sense filtering’. The model presented is general and thus not oriented to the production of any species in particular.
African locust beans (Parkia filicoidea Welw.) were processed and fermented to the traditional West African condiment dawadawa. The beans were transformed to 'processed substrate' by boiling and dehulling, and then fermented at 37°C in static fermenter units. The overall mass balance and the mass balances of several bean components (moisture, fat, protein, ash and carbohydrate) were studied. It was found that l.Okg of raw beans (6.4% moisture) yielded 1.3kg of processed substrate (63% moisture) which in turn was converted to 1.2kg of dawadawa (65% moisture). The loss of bean solids during processing was due to the removal of adhering pulp and testa as well as to solids extraction during boiling and washing.Overall, 57% of the bean dry weight, 85% of the carbohydrate, 48% of the ash, 40% of the protein and 1% of the fat were lost in the conversion of raw beans to dawadawa. The dawadawa had considerably higher fat and protein contents than the raw beans and was a pleasant tasting food whereas the raw beans were inedible. Some microbiological aspects of the fermentation were also investigated. Normally prepared fermentation substrate was compared with both sterilised and radappertised beans in terms of conversion to dawadawa, number of colony forming units present, and the development of pH and titratable acidity. The presence of microorganisms was found to be obligatory for the conversion to proceed. Simultaneous increases in both pH and titratable acidity were observed during the fermentation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.