Author: lalander

Hello, my name is Nikos Gyftopoulos, I am from Greece, where I did my bachelors in Biology in the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, and now I am living in Uppsala.

I am doing my master’s programme in Applied Biotechnology at Uppsala University and I am presently doing my thesis in the Department of Energy and Technology of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), with the Environmental Engineering Research Group. During the following months I intend to learn many aspects related to the bioconversion of organic wastes with black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens, BSFL) and develop my thesis in this subject.

I will be supervised by Dr. Ivã Guidini Lopes and Dr. Cecilia Lalander, and the project we will develop together regards evaluations of the inactivation patterns of microbial pathogens during the bioconversion of contaminated post-consumer food waste.

Our latest publication on the dynamics of BSFL composting is just out in Waste management.

Around the world, many types of waste streams are (bio)converted with these insect larvae, and the treatment efficiency is dependent on the materials’ characteristics and rearing conditions. In this study, we evaluated the impact of these traits on the efficiency of this bioconversion.

We found out that the nutritional composition of waste is far from being the only factor that affect the efficiency of the bioconversion process. The number of larvae we add in one treatment unit impact on in the total yield of larval biomass (feed ingredient) up to a threshold at which point adding more seed larvae no longer increase the total yield of larval biomass. The depth and moisture of the biowaste was found to affect the larval survival and consequently, the overall process efficiency.

This study sheds light in how to establish several process parameters during waste treatment with BSFL, assisting waste managers and insect breeders on how to treat new waste streams with this insect larvae, promoting circularity in the sector.

If you are intrested to find out more, check the full article out.

We are once again partnering up with a number of stakeholders all through the food production chain, from producers of residual streams, to insect producers, feed producers and farmers to wholesalers in the project The feed of the future for fish, pigs, poultry and laying hens (Framtidens foder för fågel fisk och fläsk, 5F), partially finansed by Vinnova. The project will test and evaluate several innovative feed ingredients, including for example insects, mycoprotein, and blue mussels from the Baltic Sea. The goal is to set up production with sales of pigs, fish, poultry, and eggs from laying hens that have been fed a low climate impact feed containing ingredients that benefit biodiversity. The project takes the results further from the pilot Five Tons of Green Fish which proved that it is possible to raise Swedish rainbow salmon with insect-based feed, which has up to 70% lower climate footprint than conventional feed. We will be the insect knowledge hub in the project.t.

We are looking for a postdoctoral research fellow for our research in fly larvae composting, with a focus on the hygiene of the process as well as of the larvae and the treatment residue (frass-compost) from the treatment of society’s biodegradable waste. The work will be conducted in close collaboration with researchers and doctoral candidates in the group who work on related issues. The focus is to evaluate the degradation of various biological infectious agents such as bacteria (also spore-forming), bacteriophages and prions. The postdoctoral fellow is expected to pursue the following studies: 1) fate of prions in fly larvae composting; 2) fate of anaerobic spore-forming bacteria in fly larvae composting, and 3) study of mechanisms for killing salmonella in fly larvae composting.

Click here for more information.