Abstract: The bioconversion of kitchen waste by black soldier fly (BSF) is one of the effective approaches to further utilize the kitchen waste. However, the supply issue of commercial BSF eggs has become a potential instability factor in BSF breeding operation. Therefore, the potential and feasibility of large-scale self-produced insect eggs for converting kitchen waste was researched. The results indicated that using self-produced BSF eggs could increase 5.6 percentage points of larvae conversion and 12.9 percentage points of solid waste reduction efficiency with the dosing ratio of 1∶7 500, which higher than those of purchased eggs, reaching 19.4% and 60.3%, respectively. The protein and lipid content of the larvae were 43.9% and 20.2%, respectively. Further, based on the results of single-factor optimization experiments with egg-to-waste ratio and economic benefit analysis, an optimal ratio of 1∶7 500 was determined. Additionally, taking a 50 t/d waste treatment project by BSF as the basis for calculation, the construction and operation costs of setting up a spawning house were estimated. The operational cost of self-produced BSF eggs was approximately 0.60 yuan/g, which was lower than the market price of 0.80 yuan/g, with an expected annual saving of 0.864 million yuan. Comprehensive analysis showed that establishing a spawning house to achieve self-supply of BSF eggs was feasible and necessary for the large-scale BSF conversion project.

Key words: food waste, black soldier fly, farming optimization, benefit evaluation