I-Corps: Team HexaFeast National

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是创建一个综合的食品-能源-水系统，利用农业废弃物生产高蛋白食品。大规模使用农业废弃物(主要是绿叶蔬菜)作为粉虫的食物来源，粉虫是一种干货害虫，不能靠湿食物生存。该项目将开发一种被动式太阳能干燥机，以极少的能量投入和高效率大规模干燥农业废弃物，以便可以安装在世界上任何靠近农田的地方。这个用于生产人类消费蛋白质的系统被设计为使用水的足迹接近于零。这个i-Corps项目将大规模利用农业废弃物(主要是绿叶蔬菜)作为粉虫的食物来源。其次，粉虫是干货害虫，不能靠湿食物生存。该项目将开发一种被动式太阳能干燥器，以极少的能源投入大规模干燥农业废弃物。该公司的目的是开发运动部件最少、效率高的干燥机，以便它可以安装在世界上任何靠近农田的地方。第三，这个生产蛋白质供人类消费的系统被设计成用水足迹接近于零。在高相对湿度条件下，粉虫的生长性能显著提高。被动式太阳能干燥器将农业废弃物脱水到适合粉虫的干燥程度。干燥过程中释放的水将被回收并重新用于润湿粉虫饲养设施。总而言之，智力上的优点在于一个集成的系统，能够以最低的能源和水资源需求生产高质量的食物来源，可以在世界任何地方以相对低廉的成本建立。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to create an integrated food-energy-water system that uses agricultural waste to generate a high-protein food product. Large-scale use of agricultural waste (mostly leafy greens) as a food source for mealworms, which are a dry-goods pests and do not survive on wet foods. This project will develop a passive solar dryer to dry agricultural waste on a large scale with very little energy input and high efficiency so that it can be set up any where in the world near agricultural fields. This system for producing protein for human consumption is designed to have a water-use footprint close to zero. This I-Corps project will develop the large-scale use of agricultural waste (mostly leafy greens) as a food source for mealworms. Second, mealworms are dry-goods pests and do not survive on wet foods. This project will develop a passive solar dryer to dry agricultural waste on a large scale with very little energy input. It is the company's intent to develop the dryer with minimal moving parts and high efficiency so that it can be set up any where in the world near agricultural fields. Third, this system for producing protein for human consumption is designed to have a water-use footprint close to zero. Mealworms growth performance increases dramatically at high relative humidity. The passive solar dryer will dehydrate the agricultural waste to a dryness appropriate for the mealworms. The water released during desiccation will be recaptured and reused to humidify the mealworm rearing facility. Together, the intellectual merit lies in an integrated system to produce a high quality food source with minimal energy and water need, that can be set up relatively inexpensively anywhere in the world.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.