RU2798297C1 - Device for sampling greenhouse gases obtained as a result of the vital activity of insects - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture; agroecology.

SUBSTANCE: device for sampling greenhouse gases obtained as a result of the vital activity of insects includes a ventilatory chamber with adjustable air inlet and outlet and microclimate control sensors. The device is made in the form of a main chamber for tested insects, equipped with inlet and outlet tubes, on which rubberized membranes are made, and a prechamber hermetically mounted on the main chamber with the possibility of periodic opening. At the same time, air sampling holes are made on the outer part of the inlet and outlet tubes. In addition, a tubular connection is installed between the chambers, which ensures air mixing, maintaining stable microclimate conditions in the chambers and preventing insect micropopulation stress.

EFFECT: obtaining representative samples of greenhouse gases emitted by the studied populations of insects that are in optimal, stable and controlled environmental conditions for subsequent analysis of emissions.

1 cl, 3 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of agriculture and agroecology.

With the world's population skyrocketing, projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, the demand for dietary animal protein is expected to increase. To reduce the negative impact of agricultural production on the environment (especially in the livestock industry) while meeting the demand of the population, new alternative sources of protein and food products are proposed. One of them are insects, which can turn the remains of agricultural and food waste into high-quality protein. Thus, carbon footprint studies in the production of alternative sources of animal protein in comparison with traditional animal husbandry are of particular relevance.

A device for measuring greenhouse gas emissions from soil and plants is known, including a chamber with a device for ventilating air in it (patent RU No. 2518979).

Also known is an automatic camera made of two parts: movable and fixed for measuring the flow of greenhouse gases at the soil-atmosphere interface (patent RU No. 169373).

The disadvantages of the known devices include the impossibility of sampling gases resulting from the metabolism of insects.

The closest in technical essence to the claimed solution is a device for determining the metabolic rate of farm animals by measuring their heat production and energy balance under various environmental and nutritional conditions, which is described in the article by Verstegen M.W.A., Van Der Hel W., Brandsma H.A., Henken A.M., Bransen A.M. (1987) The Wageningen Respiration Unit for Animal Production Research: A Description of the Equipment and its Possibilities. In: Verstegen M.W.A., Henken A.M. (eds) Energy Metabolism in Farm Animals. Current Topics in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Vol 44. Springer, Dordrecht. ISBN: 978-94-010-8010-1 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3363-7 2). The device contains a sealed chamber with adjustable air inlet and outlet and microclimate control sensors.

A possible area of use of the known device is only for determining the metabolic rate of farm animals and unsuitable for sampling greenhouse gases emitted as a result of insect metabolism.

An analysis of known solutions has shown that a technical problem in this area is the need to expand the arsenal of tools for sampling greenhouse gases emitted as a result of insect metabolism.

The technical result of the proposed technical solution is to obtain representative samples of greenhouse gases emitted by the studied populations of insects that are in optimal, stable and controlled environmental conditions for subsequent analysis of emissions.

To solve this problem and obtain the claimed technical result, a device for sampling greenhouse gases obtained as a result of the vital activity of insects, including a breathing chamber with adjustable air inlet and outlet and microclimate control sensors, characterized in that the device is made in the form of a main chamber for tested insects equipped with inlet and outlet tubes, on the outer part of which there are holes for air sampling, and a pre-chamber, hermetically installed on the main chamber with the possibility of periodic opening, in addition, a tubular connection is mounted between the chambers, which ensures air mixing, maintaining stable microclimate conditions in the chambers and preventing insect micropopulation stress.

The device is illustrated by the presented drawings.

In FIG. 1 shows a general view of the device;

In FIG. 2 - tubular connection between the main chamber and the prechamber;

In FIG. 3 is a general diagram of the main chamber and prechamber.

The respiratory chamber device for sampling greenhouse gases emitted by insects consists of two main parts (Fig. 1): the main chamber 1 for housing insects and the pre-chamber 2, connected by a piping system (Fig. 2). The main chamber 1 (Fig. 3) and the pre-chamber 2 are installed in such a way that they fit perfectly to each other, between them there is an airtight seal made by a silicone seal. The main chamber 1 and the prechamber 2 are fixed along the perimeter using metal clips 3, which ensure the tightness of the system. The main chamber 1 and the pre-chamber 2 have inlet 4 and outlet 5 tubes, which are used respectively to take in fresh air and exhaust air saturated with metabolic products of animals. There is also a tubular connection 6 between the main chamber 1 and the pre-chamber 2 which allows the air to mix, maintains the microclimate and prevents the animals from being stressed. A mixing fan 7 is mounted in the prechamber 2, and an adjustable heater with a thermostat 8 and a thermometer-hygrometer 9 are mounted in the main chamber 1. Rubberized membranes 10 and 11 are made on the tubes 4 and 5, where needles for air sampling are placed. The volume of both chambers is 132 dm ³ .

For the device of the respiratory chamber, transparent plexiglass is used, which is inert to the effects of gases, or darkened, depending on the requirements of the tested insect species for illumination.

The device works as follows. First, zero air samples are taken. In the main chamber 1, a food tray is placed for the insects to be tested at precisely defined temperature and humidity (the most favorable for each insect species being tested). The prechamber 2 is mounted on top of the main chamber 1 and fixed with metal clamps 3. Then the piping system 4, 5 and 6 is connected, the mixing fan 7 is turned on. Excess moisture is removed with silica gel, and the built-in thermostat maintains the desired temperature by turning the heater 8 on or off. Air temperature and humidity are controlled using a thermometer-hygrometer 9. Zero air samples are taken at the inlet and outlet of the chambers using syringes through rubberized membranes 10 and 11.

After taking zero samples, the pre-chamber 2 is dismantled and placed in the main insect chamber 1 at a certain temperature and humidity (the most favorable for each tested species), then the device is assembled according to the scheme above. After a certain time (specific for each insect species), air sampling is carried out similarly to zero sampling. Next, the selected air samples are injected either directly into the gas chromatograph or into vials (vials) for further analysis. The number of samples taken and the frequency of sampling vary depending on the purpose of the study and the insect species.

The results of the studies showed that, compared with the prototype, the proposed device provides the possibility of greenhouse gases removal and the stability of environmental conditions for experimental insects, which makes it possible to obtain representative data when studying the carbon footprint of insects grown to compensate for the deficiency in animal protein and at the same time reduce emissions. greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Claims (1)

A device for sampling greenhouse gases obtained as a result of the vital activity of insects, including a breathing chamber with controlled air inlet and outlet and microclimate control sensors, characterized in that the device is made in the form of a main chamber for tested insects, equipped with inlet and outlet tubes, on which rubberized membranes, while air sampling holes are made on the outer part of the inlet and outlet pipes, and the pre-chamber, hermetically installed on the main chamber with the possibility of periodic opening, in addition, a tubular connection is mounted between the chambers, which ensures air mixing, maintaining stable microclimate conditions in chambers and preventing insect micropopulations from being stressed.

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