Rational design and characterization of bioplastics from Hermetia illucens prepupae proteins

Abstract

In this study proteins extracted from prepupae of Hermetia illucens, also known as black soldier fly, are investigated as promising base for a new type of bioplastics for agricultural purposes. Design of experiments techniques are employed to perform a rational study on the effects of different combination of glycerol as plasticizer, citric acid as cross‐linking agent and distilled water as solvent on the capability of proteins to form a free‐standing film through casting technique, keeping as fixed the quantity of proteins. Glycerol shows interesting properties as plasticizer contributing to the formation of homogenous and free‐standing film. Moreover, mechanical and thermal characterizations are performed to estimate the effect of increasing amounts of proteins on the final properties and thickness of the specimens. Proteins derived from H. illucens can be successfully employed as base for bioplastics to be employed for agricultural purposes.

Preliminary Study on Sustainable NPK Slow-Release Fertilizers Based on Byproducts and Leftovers: A Design-of-Experiment Approach

“… 20 The N-enriched fraction of BSF biomass was employed in the present study and obtained through a chemical extraction process that aimed to separate the lipid fraction from the N-enriched fraction. 19 , 20 All of the chemical and elemental compositions of the raw materials are reported in Table 1 . Glycerol (GL, Sigma-Aldrich, 99%), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC, M w ∼ 700, Sigma-Aldrich), and polyethylene glycol (PEG400, Honeywell Fluka, MM = 400) were tested as plasticizers.…”

“… 16 , 17 The elemental composition of BSF prepupae changes depending on the type of the rearing substrate, but the high contents of proteins and chitin (near to 30 wt %) make them extremely attractive sources of nitrogen. 18 − 21 As far as the authors know, this is the first study that investigates this type of biomass as a possible component for CRF design.…”

Optimization of Hermetia illucens (L.) egg laying under different nutrition and light conditions

“…die within a few hours [13] up to 4 days, with a maximum of 9 days post oviposition [36]. A high percentage (80-96%) of 4-day old females are able to mate [23,35] and if provided with only water, they lay eggs two days after mating [23].…”

“…Feeding on a wide variety of organic wastes of animal and vegetal origin [1][2][3] the BSF larvae reduce the waste amount up to 50-80% (wet weight) [4], transforming it in a residue suitable as soil amendment [5,6]. The mature BSF larvae are valued for having a high content of protein (37 to 63% dry matter) and fat (7 to 39% a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 dry matter) [7,8], with a great applicability in the feed and food industry [8][9][10][11], as well as for the production of biodiesel [12] and biodegradable bioplastics [13].…”

Bioplastic Film from Black Soldier Fly Prepupae Proteins Used as Mulch: Preliminary Results

“…In the present study, for the preparation of the innovative protein-based film (PBF), BSF larvae were reared on an optimized mixture of chicken manure, water and zeolite [26], and the proteins were obtained after proper fractionation of the prepupae [27]. PBF was obtained by mixing 0.25 g of BSF proteins and glycerol (0.21 g) in distilled water (3.25 g), adjusted to pH 10 with NaOH (1 N) through a wet casting technique [30]. The obtained film had a thickness of 0.36 mm.…”