Someone has woken up to the fact that the maggot is an efficient converter of just about every imaginable organic waste. They get to tackle the obvious technical problems.
They focus on obvious waste streams in the urban environment. There are major waste streams in the agricultural industry that could also be economically handled with this process. One serious attraction is that there is no need to maintain continuous processing. It is nicely tailored to batch processing in which you operate only over the short season typical of agriculture.
One thing not obvious is that the feedstock does impact on the use of the product. That suggests that high quality farm waste will produce a better quality protein meal.
A lot of effort has gone into designing an industrial process for converting organic waste and sewage sludge particularly into usable chemical feedstocks. Having an efficient interim organic step will make that feasible.
Converting sewage and digestible organic waste into fat maggots that may even self propel themselves into a processor is a pretty neat use of natural methodology. Most important, the end product is uniform and certainly easy to work with in terms of various upgrading strategies
It may even make sense to use the dry protein portion as a feedstock in the algae business. The point is that by introducing this intermediary non energy consuming step in the processing cycle we open up options where energy can be spent.
Worst case scenario, we have a biofuel and a perfectly good fertilizer.
EcoSystem’s technologies rely on a number of organisms, one of which is Hermetia Illucens – the Black Soldier Fly.
Hermetia are clean, energy-efficient and voracious. They rapidly consume large quantities of feed during maturation, without regard for the chemicals, toxins, bacteria and pathogens that would cripple algae and other bioreactor technologies.
Hermetia’s natural life cycle allows for the following important benefits:
Rapid conversion of waste into biomass.
Low energy demand, favorable carbon footprint and reduces the carbon footprint of the targeted feedstock source.
High tolerance to contamination equates to increased caloric uptake and survival until harvesting.
Works by itself or with other organisms in an engineered food/product chain.
EcoSystem Unveils MAGFUEL™ Feedstock for Biodiesel
Process Converts Food Scrap Waste into Natural Oils with Greater Yields than Soy
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EcoSystem Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: ESYM) today announced its MAGFUEL™ biofuel feedstock model. EcoSystem will apply its bioreactor technology to convert food scrap waste into natural oils for biodiesel feedstock and specialty chemical applications.
The key to EcoSystem’s bioreactor technology is the use of the Black Soldier Fly. When at full capacity, Black Soldier Fly food scrap waste conversion technology could yield up to 190,000 gallons of crude (non-food) natural oils per acre of bioreactor surface area annually. In comparison, soybean yields an average of 40 gallons of oil per acre annually. EcoSystem’s integrated bioreactor is estimated to be deployed at a cost of less than $100 per square foot with minimal use of utilities for other than periodic cleaning and heating.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the annual food scrap waste generated per capita in the U.S. is 1,678 pounds, of which 11% are food scraps. 40% to 50% of nearly all food harvested never gets consumed according to the University of Arizona’s Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology. Nationwide, household food waste adds up to $43 billion per year. Residential households waste an average of 14% of their food purchases, and fifteen percent of that includes products still within their expiration date but never opened.
EcoSystem estimates that 25% of the volume of retail, restaurant, and industrial generated food waste could be converted into Black Soldier Fly larvae. Based upon U.S. 2010 Census data, up to 100 million gallons per year of MAGFUEL™ natural oils could be produced and sold to U.S. biodiesel producers using EcoSystem technology.
“Competitively-priced feedstock has always been a challenge for the biodiesel industry” says Glen Courtright, President and CEO of EcoSystem. “We are excited to develop this competitively priced, high quality feedstock to the biodiesel industry by diverting food scrap waste from landfills. We are in discussions now with a number of very interested early-adopter partners for co-location of our bioreactor technology.”
EcoSystem will market the MAGFUEL™ into the existing biodiesel industry as a blending agent for lower grade biodiesel feedstocks (e.g., choice white grease, tallow, and yellow grease) which have poor cold flow properties and high cetane values. The larvae dry weight consists of about 42% protein and 35% natural oils. The natural oil derived from the Black Soldier Fly Larvae is comprised of the following constituents: 1.6% capric acid; 53.2% lauric acid, 6.6% myristic acid, 8.4% palmitic acid, 1.7% stearic acid, 12.4% oleic acid, and 8.8% linoleic acid.
EcoSystem’s revenue model will be driven by tipping fees for accepting and processing food scrap waste, MAGFUEL™, and other product sales.
EcoSystem’s Black Soldier Fly bioreactor technology can convert a diverse array of feedstocks, including poultry and swine manure, livestock processing wastes, and food scrap waste. Black Soldier Flies are clean, energy-efficient and voracious. They rapidly consume large quantities of feed during maturation and have a high tolerance against contaminants that would cripple algae and other bioreactor technologies.
About EcoSystem Corporation
EcoSystem is innovating industrial-scale applications of bioreactor technology that are designed to resolve compelling ecological challenges while producing valuable products. Additional information is available online at www.eco-system.com.
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