Development of black soldier fly (BSF) maggot sieving and food waste shredding machine/
Francisco V. Canapi III, Ma. Ashley S. Ciera, Paullyn L. Gomez, Tomas C. Gomugda, jr., Bryan Brando B. Ladao .--
- Manila: Technological University of the Philippines, 2024
- xiv, 168pages: 29cm.
Bachelor's thesis
College of Industrial Technology .--
Includes bibliographic references and index.
Food waste poses a significant threat to the environment and natural resources due to its reliance on landfills for disposal. These wastes attract BSF maggots, as they are drawn to organic materials that provide rich nutrients. BSF maggots consume food waste and can serve as an alternative protein feed, while their frass can be used as fertilizer. The main objective of this study is to develop a machine that addresses traditional food waste disposal methods and the labor-intensive process of manually separating maggots from frass. This was achieved by using the hammermill principle on the shredder to break down food waste into smaller particles for larvae consumption, while the reciprocating sieve separates BSF maggot from frass using the slider-crank mechanism. The integration of motor control enhances the machine's performance, user-friendliness and safety. Test results showed that the shredder efficiently processes 20 kg of food waste in 11:49 minutes, achieving an output rate of 93%. Meanwhile, the BSF maggot sieve processes 20 kg of maggots in 22:31 minutes, achieving an efficiency rate of 95%. The machine also demonstrates efficient power consumption, making it highly economical. The prototype was evaluated by 35 evaluators to determine its performance. The prototype achieved an overall mean score of 4.74, with a descriptive rating of "Excellent." Based on the evaluation and findings, this study can assist BSF practitioners and farmers in efficiently shredding food waste into fine particles for efficient BSF digestion and sieving the BSFL from its frass, providing clean maggots as required by customers.