Black Soldier Fly, Snoop Dogg, along with Gin & Juice

It is rare where I get to mix pop culture in with discussions on the BSF. But, this paper has presented a great platform for me to do so.  Everyone recognizes the ability of BSF to digest distillery waste and quite a bit of research has been done on this topic. 

Well, this paper came across my desk recently, and it is quite a find. I say this for two reasons, 1) it allows me to discuss Snoop Dogg, and 2) it demonstrates BSF use is not limited to recycling wastes from typical western spirits.

Dobermann, D., L. M. Field, and L. V. Michaelson. 2019. Using Hermetia illucens to process Ugandan waragi waste. Journal of Cleaner Production 211: 303-308.

So, what is waragi? What I found out is this spirit is a form of gin produced in Uganda. Based on the introduction in the paper, this product is not legal so methods vary quite a bit in terms of its production. I guess you could say waragi is a boot-legged (look at definition 2b) beverage. The description of the recipe is quite fascinating- "combination of molasses, pure ethanol and other unidentified chemicals which are fermented in old oil drums..."  In the end, a waste residue is produced.  

Basically what the authors determined BSF could be used to recycle this waste!  I highly recommend this paper  as it is a unique application of BSF technology.  

So- why the reference to Snoop Dogg? Well, I am a fan- and I his hit song "Gin & Juice" is a classic that keeps rocking!!  

One afterthought... if waragi is a boot-legged spirit.. would one conclude the resulting BSF are also boot-legged? All I can picture is the idea of Smokey & the Bandit with BSF as the cargo.

Author

Jeffery K. Tomberlin, PhD, Gangsta BSF
Director, EVO Conversion Systems
​Twitter: @FliesFacility