Worldwide we experience a growth in insect farming. Farming insects for animal or human consumption can be a viable alternative for traditional agriculture. Insect agriculture implies lower greenhouse emissions, so a lower impact on the environment. Also it requires less resources and extensive land use than the known energy and agricultural land requirements for obtaining conventional animal protein.
The topic to look for alternatives for protein is getting more and more attention. And it should as well. For example mealworms are a suitable alternative for protein because they are nutritious and also less resource-intensive than traditional livestock. A 2012 study reported it takes 2 to 10 times less agricultural land to produce 1 kilogram of insect protein compared to producing 1 kilogram of protein from pigs or cattle.
Edible insects farming is trending. In this world where we are looking for protein alternatives this kind of breeding is ideal. Insect farming in a closed or indoor environment is an important means to making food available continuously year-round, since many insects are available in nature only during certain seasons or months. Mealworms and Black Solder Flies are quite popular insects to breed with.
Also the farming of insects can actually be a circular solution and can be promising as well to manage the growing amount of organic waste! This is because the larvae can transform any kind of organic waste into high-quality protein. And they can be used to feed animals. But before they can be feed they first need to be separated from the frass.
Would you also like to get a more efficient process for separate the larvae from the frass? Manually harvesting of insect larvaes can be very time consuming and requires the presence of one or more operators. More ever, it is impossible to reach the same shaking frequencies as automated shaking sieves.
Did you knew that we have introduced a machine for insect farming? The Rotoshifter is an ideal solution to separate larvae from frass and can handle various species.
The Rotoshifter combines two proven separation technologies into one to separate the insect (larvae) from the frass based on density. In the second step the light fraction can be separated by size. The Rotoshifter separates for example Black Soldier Flies Larvae or mealworms using air- and rotational forces and several drum screens simultaneously. The Rotoshifter is available in various models with different diameters and lengths.
The throughput can vary from 1,5 up to 20 m3 per hour, depending on the diameter and the length of the Rotoshifter. It's settings can be customized which makes the Rotoshifter fit in nearly any insect rearing process. Our insect farming equipment has proven to reach a purity level of clean Black Solder Fly Larvae up to 97,5 to 99,9%. For mealworms, the purity level was 99,9%.
In the videos below you can see for example the separation of black solder flies larvae from frass as well as mealworms.
Do you already have a insect plant or considering to start this? Or are you searching for ways to scale up the production and want to replace your current method of manual sieving? Curious what our Rotoshifter can offer you? Download the brochure or ask for the possibilities.
In April we delivered a brand new Rotoshifter to Ecoprot in Norway. They were looking for an automated method to sieve black soldier flies larvae from frass and were looking for a solution. After several tests with larvae and frass from Norway at our facility in Venlo, the Rotoshifter proved to be the best solution for their requirements. In the attached video you can see the results.