Innovative bioplastics from polypeptides of Hermetia illucens

The environmentally sustainable waste management, together with waste valorization, is one of the actual challenges pursued by the European Commission. UE policies are thus contributing in the frameworks of circular economy by promoting the extraction of high quality materials from wastes. At the European level, the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is estimated to be 500 kg per capita, of which 70% (discarded food, yard trimmings, paper and wood) is represented by the so-called organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). In this scenario, organic waste valorization is gaining major relevance within circular economy models, with bioconversion mediated from insects being one possible and effective answer to the problem. The project RICH (Turning Rubbish Into biobased materials: a sustainable CHain for the full valorization of organic waste) aims to develop an innovative and integrated circular economy chain, which, starting from the biotransformation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), allows the targeted production of biobased materials with high technological value, such as bioplastics and other advanced protein-based materials. In the present study, proteins and polypeptides were extracted from larvae and pupae of Hermetia illucens, also known as Black Soldier Fly. The extraction efficiency from both stages was assessed. Crude extracts were characterized by means of proteomics techniques such as BCA, SDS-PAGE, and LC-MS analyses. State of art materials were prepared, investigating the correlation with the molecular structure through physical techniques (FTIR, Contact Angle, TGA). Results clearly points out a correlation between film-forming ability and the chosen larval stage, with extracts from Larvae at the 6th instar leading to the best results. A correlation with polypeptide chain length is proposed.