Development of insect production automation: Automated processes for the production of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens)

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

Date

2020-03-16

Department

Major/Subject

Control, Robotics and Autonomous Systems

Mcode

ELEC3025

Degree programme

AEE - Master’s Programme in Automation and Electrical Engineering (TS2013)

Language

en

Pages

90 + 6

Series

Abstract

In recent years, Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) has received attention as an attractive approach for recycling biowaste into value products. The production of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) uses biowaste as the input feedstock for the growing of BSF larvae in order to produce nutrient-rich larvae feedstock products and organic fertilizers. However, most of the operations in BSF production are still carried out manually, which limits production volume. This makes BSF products less competitive than other traditional feedstock products. Thus, this thesis aims to develop automated processes for the mass production of BSF larvae. In order to eliminate the dependence on manual work and to make feasible the industrialization of production, a six-step strategy was implemented. The sequence of steps was as follows: determining the requirements and specifications of the BSF production; calculating the desired capacity of processes; selecting machinery; designing automated processes; proposing a method of machinery integration; and designing state machines for automation software programming. The solution developed here consists of four components: a list of machinery with capacity analysis; a designed floor layout and 3D visualization of all production processes; a proposed automation control system for the integration of machinery; and composite function blocks of IEC 61499 standard for automation software programming. This thesis shows that the availability of current technologies makes feasible the automation of the BSF production process. In terms of further work, the selection of processing machines should be verified; and both the programming of automation software and the use of simulation could improve the design of the production automation.

Description

Supervisor

Vyatkin, Valeriy

Thesis advisor

Parviainen, Tuure
Tähtinen, Matti

Keywords

black soldier fly, BSF production, production automation development, IEC 61499 function blocks

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