Physicochemical and Sorption Characteristics of the <i>Hermetia illucens</i> Fly Pupal Cuticle

Abstract

Physicochemical and sorption characteristics of the Black Soldier fly pupal cuticle have been studied. The qualitative and granulometric compositions of chitin material were determined, and the surface microrelief of chitin particles was studied by scanning microscopy. The sorption properties of the material were studied using the methylene blue dye. It was found that the sorption capacity of the material is 0.118 mmol/g, or about 38 mg/g. Mathematical processing of the sorption isotherm using the Langmuir, Freindlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich models showed that the process is best described by the Dubinin-Radushkevich model (R2 = 0.8031), and the sorption process has a physical nature (E = 5.534 kJ/mol).