MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
METHODS (ARCH 421) BSF EXAM
PAPER WITH INFORMATION YOU
NEED FOR EXAM LEBANESE
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY.
, Use of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) for Organic Waste
Decomposition in an Urban Setting
Abstract
Introduction:
According to the Sweep-net country report, organic wastes compose 52.5% of the total Municipal Solid
Wastes in Lebanon. The disposal of these wastes comes at a significant cost to the government. Most of
these wastes are placed in landfills. However, landfills suffer from odors, gas emissions and pests
(Cameron et al. 2005). Moreover, in one of the most densely populated countries in the world a landfills
occupy highly needed and expensive space. Alternative disposal methods are highly needed. One method
is to use the black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) to degrade the organic component of Municipal
solid waste. The importance of this method is that the harvested pre-pupae can be used as animal feed
(Trinh 2015). Alternatively, the fats in this larvae can be used to produce biodiesel (Qing Li 2010)
whereas the proteins can also be extracted for animal feed. In this study, we aim to analyze the
feasibility of designing of a BSF processing facility in two highly urbanized locations in Lebanon: Beirut
and Tripoli. The challenge of finding suitable areas in a heavily populated city is one of the major aspects
to be handled by this study.
Methods
The previously established BSF facility which was designed in Indonesia in order to get rid of the
growing amount of organic wastes in urban areas will be used as a model for our current study. The
planned plant in Tripoli will be a 1000 m2 facility whereas that in Beirut will be a 260 m2 facility based
on a roof top due to lack of a suitable land space in the capital.
The BSF larvae will originally be sourced from an international supplier (###, ##, examples) and
imported to Lebanon. The breeding facility will initially be fully utilized to increase the number of
larvae.
The plant design will be based on an ability to process 2 tons per day on a continuous basis. This waste
will be collected from local households with the assumption of being pure organic waste, pre-sorted by
the households. Transport costs of incoming waste is assumed to be non-existent as the required 2 tons
can be sourced from xx households. Average production of MSW in Lebanon is 0.8 kg per person and the
average household has 4 persons (yaacoub,badre 2012) and with 52% of the waste being organic, the total
number of households needed is X= 2000/0.8 x 4 x 0.52 = 1201 houses. At an average of 20 houses per
residential block, this adds up to 60 Building blocks with an average of 400 m2 per building. This adds up
to an area of 60*400 = 24,000 m2. A radius of collection of a maximum of 200 meters will be required to
source all the needed organic waste.
METHODS (ARCH 421) BSF EXAM
PAPER WITH INFORMATION YOU
NEED FOR EXAM LEBANESE
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY.
, Use of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) for Organic Waste
Decomposition in an Urban Setting
Abstract
Introduction:
According to the Sweep-net country report, organic wastes compose 52.5% of the total Municipal Solid
Wastes in Lebanon. The disposal of these wastes comes at a significant cost to the government. Most of
these wastes are placed in landfills. However, landfills suffer from odors, gas emissions and pests
(Cameron et al. 2005). Moreover, in one of the most densely populated countries in the world a landfills
occupy highly needed and expensive space. Alternative disposal methods are highly needed. One method
is to use the black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) to degrade the organic component of Municipal
solid waste. The importance of this method is that the harvested pre-pupae can be used as animal feed
(Trinh 2015). Alternatively, the fats in this larvae can be used to produce biodiesel (Qing Li 2010)
whereas the proteins can also be extracted for animal feed. In this study, we aim to analyze the
feasibility of designing of a BSF processing facility in two highly urbanized locations in Lebanon: Beirut
and Tripoli. The challenge of finding suitable areas in a heavily populated city is one of the major aspects
to be handled by this study.
Methods
The previously established BSF facility which was designed in Indonesia in order to get rid of the
growing amount of organic wastes in urban areas will be used as a model for our current study. The
planned plant in Tripoli will be a 1000 m2 facility whereas that in Beirut will be a 260 m2 facility based
on a roof top due to lack of a suitable land space in the capital.
The BSF larvae will originally be sourced from an international supplier (###, ##, examples) and
imported to Lebanon. The breeding facility will initially be fully utilized to increase the number of
larvae.
The plant design will be based on an ability to process 2 tons per day on a continuous basis. This waste
will be collected from local households with the assumption of being pure organic waste, pre-sorted by
the households. Transport costs of incoming waste is assumed to be non-existent as the required 2 tons
can be sourced from xx households. Average production of MSW in Lebanon is 0.8 kg per person and the
average household has 4 persons (yaacoub,badre 2012) and with 52% of the waste being organic, the total
number of households needed is X= 2000/0.8 x 4 x 0.52 = 1201 houses. At an average of 20 houses per
residential block, this adds up to 60 Building blocks with an average of 400 m2 per building. This adds up
to an area of 60*400 = 24,000 m2. A radius of collection of a maximum of 200 meters will be required to
source all the needed organic waste.
