Evaluation of ammonia pretreatment of four fibrous biowastes and its effect on black soldier fly larvae rearing performance.

Biowaste treatment with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL, Hermetia illucens L.) can promote a more sustainable food system by reusing nutrients that would otherwise be wasted. However, many agri-food wastes and byproducts are typically high in lignocellulosic fibers (i.e., cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin), making it resistant to efficient larval and/or microbial degradation. Ammonia pretreatment could be used to partially degrade lignocellulose, making the biowaste more easily degradable by the larvae and/or microorganisms. This study evaluated ammonia pretreatment for lignocellulose degradation and its effect on BSFL performance on four fibrous biowastes: brewers spent grain, cow manure, oat pulp, and grass clippings. First, the optimal ammonia dose (1 % or 5 % dry mass) and pretreatment time (three or seven days) were assessed by measuring fibers after treatment and further examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Second, BSFL rearing performance on ammonia-pretreated substrates was assessed with a 9-day feeding experiment. Three-day pretreatment with 5 % ammonia was chosen as it decreased the total fiber content by 8-23 % for all substrates except cow manure. Contrary to expectations, ammonia pretreatment with all substates decreased BSFL rearing performance metrics by more than half compared to the untreated control. Follow-up experiments suggested that ammonia pretreatment had a dose-dependent toxicity to BSFL. Interestingly, three-day fermentation of cow manure and oat pulp increased bioconversion rate by 25-31 %. This study shows that ammonia pretreatment is not suitable before BSFL rearing. Ammonia toxicity to BSFL and other pretreatments, such as fermentation, should be further studied.