Modular Insect Production Systems for High-Density Biomanufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for efficient, reliable, and consistent systems and methods for large-scale insect production and cannabis farming that minimize environmental impact, reduce manual labor, and automate processes to meet growing demands for insect protein and cannabis, while ensuring animal welfare and compliance with food safety and regulatory standards.
Innovation Solution
The development of modular, energy-efficient, computer-operated insect and cannabis farming systems that incorporate advanced bioprocessing and automation technologies for controlled environments, including insect breeding, feeding, grinding, pathogen removal, and lipid extraction, as well as water treatment and traceability systems to ensure quality and compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If large-scale insect production facilities are implemented, then insect protein output increases, but physical space requirements and infrastructure costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements vertically stacked growing assemblies arranged in multiple levels within a single facility footprint. This vertical stacking approach transforms horizontal space expansion into vertical space utilization, allowing high-density insect production without proportionally increasing the physical facility area. The modular stacked design enables scaling output while maintaining compact infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The production facility is divided into multiple independent growing assemblies that can be stacked and configured in modular units. Each assembly operates as a separate production module, allowing the system to scale incrementally and efficiently utilize space through systematic arrangement of segmented production units rather than requiring large monolithic facilities.
2Productivity
If high-density insect rearing is implemented, then production efficiency increases, but disease transmission and cannibalism risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the insect population into separate growing assemblies with individual environmental controls. This segmentation isolates different insect cohorts, preventing disease transmission between groups and reducing cannibalism by providing separate rearing spaces. Each assembly can be managed independently to optimize density while minimizing harmful interactions.
Solution Approach 2:
Each growing assembly is equipped with its own climate control, feeding, and monitoring systems tailored to specific insect stage requirements. This localized control allows optimization of environmental conditions for each group, reducing stress-induced cannibalism and disease susceptibility while maintaining high productivity in each segment.
3Ease of operation
If manual labor is reduced through automation, then labor costs decrease, but system complexity and initial investment increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates automated feeding mechanisms, climate control systems, and monitoring technologies that enable the insect production facility to operate with minimal human intervention. These self-service capabilities reduce ongoing labor requirements while the modular design keeps initial complexity manageable through standardized components.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated systems are designed with multi-functional capabilities that perform multiple operations within unified platforms. This universality reduces overall system complexity by consolidating functions rather than requiring separate specialized systems for each task, making automation more economically viable.
4Reliability
If water treatment and purification systems are implemented, then water quality for insect feeding improves, but system complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates intermediate water treatment stages including filtration and purification systems that process water before it reaches the insect feeding points. These intermediary treatment steps ensure reliable water quality while using standardized treatment technologies that balance effectiveness with manageable system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These systems enable high-density insect and cannabis production with minimal resources, reducing environmental impact and labor, while ensuring animal welfare and compliance, thereby addressing the growing demand for sustainable and safe food and pharmaceutical products.
Implementation Method 1
a membrane
Implementation Method 2
an adsorbent
Implementation Method 3
ion exchange resin
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to the field of commercial scale production and processing of pharmaceutical liquid or solid compositions derived from insects, wherein the compositions include a purified recombinant protein, vaccine, antibody, peptide, or chemical, and where the virus includes a recombinant baculovirus. Systems and methods to produce the insects and a purified insect-derived recombinant protein, vaccine, antibody, peptide, insecticide, fungicide, or chemical within a bioreactor are also described.