Method for Obtaining High-Energy Feed Protein and Fat from Insects

Abstract

Insects are a valuable and renewable source of feed and food protein and fat. They have an amino acid composition similar to that of fishmeal and meat, and can serve as a worthy replacement for them. The aim of this study was to substantiate the technological parameters of the process of obtaining fat from the Hermetia illucens larvae by a mechanical method on a screw press. A laboratory screw press was used for this research. Before squeezing out the fat, the dried larvae were moistened, crushed and heated in a microwave oven to a temperature of 60 °C. The fat from the larvae was squeezed out in a screw press at different larval moisture levels, screw speeds and cake outlets. The results of this study made it possible to obtain optimal technological parameters for obtaining fat on a screw press: a screw rotation speed of no more than 20 ± 5 rpm; a diameter of the hole for the cake outlet of no more than 7–10 mm; a mass fraction of moisture in the pressed material of 8 ± 2%. The obtained fat fraction was tested for one of the main indicators of fat quality—acid number. It was found that the variable factors do not have a significant effect on the acid number of fat, changing it within the normal range of 10 mg KOH per 1 g of fat, which makes it possible to obtain a good quality product.