Protein hydrolysate is a complex mixture of peptide and amino acids that can be produced from various biomass sources including insects, such as black soldier fly larvae ( Hermetia illicens ) due to its relatively high protein content. This study aimed to investigate the potential of protein hydrolysate from black soldier fly larvae as a bioactive hydrolysate through enzymatic hydrolysis using bromelain. Black soldier fly larvae contain 25.6% protein and 35.5% lipids as determined by a proximate analysis. Experiments for the enzymatic hydrolysis of black soldier fly larvae was designed using a central composite design with three factors particularly enzyme concentration (1–5%), pH (6–8) and time of hydrolysis (3–24 hours). The protein hydrolysate had a yield of 10.70 % (on a weight basis) based on defatted biomass with a productivity of 21 mg/L/batch. The protein concentration varied between 240-310 μg/ml with the degree of hydrolysis varied in the range of 10–43%. The protein hydrolysate had a molecular weight in the range of 14–25 kDa based on Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of the protein hydrolysate was also determined and mainly consists of lysine (8.0%), leucine (7.7%), and valine (7.2%). The protein hydrolysate may find application as a bioactive hydrolysate with an antioxidant activity of 72.6 in terms of its ability to inhibit free radicals 2,2-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl with IC 50 of 0.84%.

The synthesis of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) from Jatropha curcas L. oil was studied in a batch reactor and a continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS) using sodium ethoxide as the catalyst. The effect of relevant process variables like rotational speed, temperature, catalyst concentration, and molar ratio of ethanol to oil was investigated. Maximum yield of FAEE was 98 mol% for both the batch (70°C, 600 rpm, 0.8% w/w of sodium ethoxide) and CCCS reactor configuration (60°C, 2100 rpm, 1% w/w of sodium ethoxide, oil feed 28 mL/min). The volumetric production rate of FAEE in the CCCS at optimum conditions was 112 kgFAEE/m3liquid · min.Practical applications: The Jatropha curcas L. shrub produces a non‐edible oil in yields up to 1.5 ton/(ha. y), which is known to be suitable for biodiesel synthesis. We here report an experimental study on the synthesis of jatropha biodiesel using ethanol instead of methanol as the alcohol source. Ethanol is accessible from biomass by fermentation and as such a green alternative for methanol. In addition, it is more readily available in developing countries than methanol. Biodiesel synthesis was performed in a CSSS, a continuous device that integrates reaction and separation. The device has potential to be applied in small scale mobile biodiesel technology due to its compact size, robustness, flexibility in operation, and high volumetric productivities.

The synthesis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from sunflower oil and methanol was studied in a continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS) using sodium methoxide as the catalyst. The effect of relevant process variables like oil and methanol flow rate, rotational speed and catalyst concentration was investigated and modelled using non-linear regression. Good agreement between experiments and model were obtained. At optimised conditions (oil flow rate of 31 mL/min, rotational speed of 34 Hz, catalyst concentration of 1.2%w/w and a methanol flow rate of 10 mL/min), the FAME yield was 94 mol% at a productivity of 2470 kg FAME /m 3 reactor .h. Proof of principle for the synthesis and subsequent refining of FAME in a cascade of two CCCS devices was also obtained. Relevant properties of the refined FAME obtained using this technology were determined and were shown to meet the ASTM specifications.Practical application: Synthesis and refining of sunflower biodiesel was successfully performed in a cascade of two CSSS devices. Besides for large scale biodiesel production, this technology has particularly potential to be applied in small mobile biodiesel units due to the compact size, robustness, flexibility in operation, and high volumetric productivity of the CCCS devices.