Biochar Can Improve Absorption of Nitrogen in Chicken Manure by Black Soldier Fly

Haixu Zhang; Xilu Zhang; Mengxiao Chen; Xin Deng; Yaxin Pei; Jiran Zhang; Hongge Chen; Sen Yang

doi:10.3390/life13040938

Biochar Can Improve Absorption of Nitrogen in Chicken Manure by Black Soldier Fly

Life (Basel). 2023 Apr 3;13(4):938. doi: 10.3390/life13040938.

Authors

Haixu Zhang¹, Xilu Zhang¹, Mengxiao Chen¹, Xin Deng¹, Yaxin Pei¹, Jiran Zhang¹, Hongge Chen¹, Sen Yang¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbial Enzyme Engineering (Ministry of Agriculture), Zhengzhou 450002, China.

Abstract

(1) Background: There is growing interest in using insects to treat nutrient-rich organic wastes, such as the black soldier fly (BSF), one of the most efficient organic waste recyclers for upcycling nutrients into the food system. Although biochar (BC) was shown to enhance nutrient retention and the final product quality during the composting of livestock and poultry manure in many previous studies, little information is available on the effect of BC on livestock manure bioconversion by black soldier fly larvae (BSFL). (2) Methods: This study investigated the effect of adding a small amount of BC to chicken manure (CM) on the bioconversion system of the black soldier fly (including N₂O and NH₃ emissions and the final distribution of nitrogen during the treatment process). (3) Results: The lowest N₂O and NH₃ emission and highest residual nitrogen in the substrate were observed in the 15% BC treatment. The highest bioconversion rate of CM (8.31%) and the peak of larval biomass was obtained in the 5% BC treatment. (4) Conclusions: The results demonstrate the feasibility of adding 5% BC to reduce pollution and achieve a satisfactory BSFL-based CM bioconversion efficiency.

Keywords: ammonia; biochar; black soldier fly; chicken manure.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2021YFD1700900), the Key Technology Research Project of Henan Province (No. 222102110156).