Hermetia illucens biofactory: from waste to high- value technological products: a review

The problem of organic waste management worldwide has led to the exploration of sustainable economically feasible and environmentally friendly solution. Hermetia illucens , more commonly known as the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) is one of the insects that emerged as a promising bio-converter. Its larvae have the ability to convert many types of organic wastes into high value-technological byproducts. This review delves into the BSF’s capabilities to convert organic waste into protein, lipid, chitin and nutrient-rich frass which showcasing its significance in frameworks for the circular bioeconomy. The Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL) have wide range of applications such as animal nutrition, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medicine, biofuels, etc. The review also focused on the selection of wastes, extraction methods, yield of biochemical and the advantages of the BSF-based systems in terms of both economics and the environment. Unlike previous reviews, this review not only summarizes the state-of the-art on BSF-derived products but also critically compares the extraction methods, identifies the challenges in scaling up and commercialization of BSF based-products and also suggests future research directions for integrating BSF into bio-economy circular models.