Unique protein from scientists of BSTU: trial run of the line was successful
Did you know that producing 1 kg of edible protein from an insect requires 500 times less water than growing 1 kg of beef protein? Insects also emit significantly less greenhouse gases than most animals - by some estimates, 600 times! At the beginning of November, a pilot launch of a pilot industrial line for the production of protein and lipid concentrate from fly larvae took place in Belgorod. But not a simple fly, but a black lioness, which is of great scientific and practical interest due to the high nutritional value of the larvae and the beneficial effect of such a protein on the growth and development of farm animals and birds. “The project is unique and has great prospects. The population of the Earth is growing, people need more and more food. Scientists have long been looking for alternative sources, especially such an important component as protein. And now it turned out that the larva of the black lion fly has very valuable properties, is saturated with trace elements, vitamins, biologically active substances. This will be useful both for raising animals and for feeding aquaculture, and in the future it will probably go into human nutrition.
And if the Russians are not yet ready to eat the larvae, then in African and Central Asian countries acrite, locusts and other insects have long been considered a delicacy, ”emphasized the author of the project, Svetlana Sverguzova, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Industrial Ecology at BSTU named after V.G. Shukhov.
The joint project of Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov and Agroakademiya LLC to create a high-tech large-scale production of animal protein is one of the projects of the world-class scientific and educational center "Innovative solutions in the agro-industrial complex" and is funded within the framework of the national project "Science". “Participation in the REC“ Innovative solutions in the agro-industrial complex ”is considered by the university as a key area of our professional, educational and scientific development. For the agrarian-oriented Belgorod region, we are ready to train, optimize and provide the most advanced personnel and technologies that reduce the severity of the global challenges of mankind, such as affordable and high-quality food, neutralization of anthropogenic impact on the environment and intensive science-intensive technologies to overcome resource depletion, "commented the rector of BSTU named after ... V.G. Shukhova Sergei Glagolev. The production technology, software for controllers and operator panels were developed by the scientists of the flagship university.
The unique equipment allows you to reduce labor costs and speed up the process - a person here only controls the production cycle. The production line can produce 9.6 thousand containers of larvae per day.
They are removed from the growing area, processed and prepared for processing into protein flour. The main part of the manufactured products is planned for export. The project is also valuable because all technological developments take place with the participation of Technologist students. In practice, there is training in the creation of robotic systems, their implementation in production. Future engineers know what the entire technological cycle looks like and how to work with it. You will hardly see this in ordinary laboratory facilities.