Use of Black Soldier Fly larvae for wastewater treatment: Influence of organic concentration on process efficiency and substrate consumption rate

The application of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae (Hermetia illucens) in wastewater treatment (WWT) presents an innovative and sustainable solution for the biological processing of high organic content wastewater. This study investigates the potential of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae in treating wastewater with varying concentrations of organic matter, focusing on total organic carbon (TOC) removal. Experiments were conducted using two organic concentrations (1000 mg/L and 2500 mg/L) to examine the effects of organic loading rate on substrate consumption rate, treatment efficiency, and larval mortality. Specifically, the research aimed at confirming the applicability of a Michaelis-Menten like relationship between substrate consumption rate and organic load, with findings indicating that larvae exhibit increased substrate removal as organic load increases, though treatment efficiency declines at higher loads due to larval overload. Mortality was significantly higher at low organic loads, suggesting that insufficient nutrients contribute to higher death rates, while overloading at high concentrations reduced system efficiency without a dramatic rise in mortality. The study concludes that optimizing organic loading rates is essential to balance substrate removal and efficiency, highlighting the potential of BSF larvae as an effective tool for sustainable wastewater treatment.