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Resistance of black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae to combined heavy metals and potential application in municipal sewage sludge treatment

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Abstract

Treating municipal sewage sludge (MSS) sustainably and economically in China remains a challenge because of risks associated with the heavy metals it contains. In this study, black solider fly larvae (BSFL) were used for MSS treatment. The resistance of larvae to combined heavy metals and their potential use in conversion of MSS were investigated. The results indicated that seven MSS samples contained large amounts of heavy metals, with the lead and nickel contents of several samples exceeding Chinese national discharge standards. BSFL were highly tolerant to an artificial diet spiked with combined heavy metals. Principal component analysis revealed that high concentrations of lead, nickel, boron, and mercury potentially interfered with larval weight gain, while zinc, copper, chromium, cadmium, and mercury slightly reduced larval survival. The addition of chicken manure and wheat bran as co-substrates improved the conversion process, which was influenced by the nature and amount of added co-substrate and especially the quantity of nitrogen added. With the amended substrate, the BSFL accumulated heavy metals into their bodies but not into extracted larval oil. The heavy metal content of the treatment residue was lower than that considered safe for organic-inorganic compound fertilizers standards in China and the harvested larvae could be used as a source of oil for industrial application.

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Acknowledgements

The authors kindly acknowledge Dr. Linda S. Thomashow from the USDA-ARS (in USA) for the manuscript revision.

Funding

This work is supported in part by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41603110), The Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest from the Ministry of Agriculture, China (201303094), and Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2015M572165).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, National Engineering Research Centre of Microbial Pesticides, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, No.1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Minmin Cai, Ruiqi Hu, Ke Zhang, Shiteng Ma, Longyu Zheng, Ziniu Yu & Jibin Zhang

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  1. Minmin Cai
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  2. Ruiqi Hu
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  3. Ke Zhang
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  4. Shiteng Ma
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  5. Longyu Zheng
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  6. Ziniu Yu
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  7. Jibin Zhang
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Correspondence to Jibin Zhang.

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Cai, M., Hu, R., Zhang, K. et al. Resistance of black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae to combined heavy metals and potential application in municipal sewage sludge treatment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 1559–1567 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0541-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0541-x

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