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The black soldier fly, besides being an insect that can help the world significantly reduce its environmental impact in the animal feed sector, can also be used to convert waste into biofuel.
In this case, it is essential to take advantage of the bioconversion of waste and also try to provide the larvae with a high-fat diet. During the rendering or protein extraction process, black soldier fly oil is indirectly produced. About 15% of the larvae's weight is usually fats, which will later be transformed into oils. This oil is ideal for supplementing animal feed and also has other uses in cosmetics. But one of the possible uses for this oil is to use it as biofuel.
Black soldier fly oil is composed of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, such as lauric acid, palmitic acid, and oleic acid, which are important for biodiesel production.
The oil just needs to be converted into biodiesel. It can be converted through non-catalytic transesterification, which involves reacting the oil with alcohol at high temperatures and pressures without the need for a catalyst. It is a relatively simple process, although it does add costs to the process. However, when dealing with waste, it adds value to the process. It is important to consider the current legal framework in the place where you are located. In Europe, the law is not very clear on this matter and implies that if you feed waste to the insects, you cannot introduce the production into the human food chain, either directly or indirectly.
This option is therefore very interesting for places where there are no legal restrictions.
You can read more about this in the following paper: Jung, S., Jung, J.-M., Tsang, Y. F., Bhatnagar, A., Chen, W.-H., Lin, K.-Y. A., & Kwon, E. E. (2021). Biodiesel production from black soldier fly larvae derived from food waste by non-catalytic transesterification. Link to article.