Biopolymers are also known as bioplastic; they are biodegradable and safe to apply in biological environments (i.e. human tissues). Chitin is the second most abundant natural biopolymer after cellulose and its most usual form is called 'Chitosan' Entoplast is producing this valuable biopolymer from insects. The particular source is capable of reprocessing large quantities of organic waste transforming it into biomass Currently, 95% of chitin/chitosan is sourced from shellfish. The global chitin/chitosan market is dependent on this source even though even though the process is needs strong acid and harmful chemicals to extract, scalability of existing methods are difficult as production relies on the fishery industry waste, and yields low output volumes. Despite this the global market is valued at £1B,increasing to £3B by the end of the decade. This project carries a novel approach to produce chitin/chitosan bioplastic from insects as an appropriate feedstock in multiple industries. Developing a net zero process for the regeneration of organic waste (OW) into high-value products whilst eliminating the use and disposal of harmful acids by using a novel process isolating the chitin/chitosan extracted with natural fluids promoting green and recyclable methods. There are many applications and uses for Chitin/Chitosan - though it is the pharmaceutical sector where the products being highly appreciated for their antiseptic and biocompatible properties where innovation is at its highest. Given the almost unlimited availability of organic waste, The Entoplast process is highly scalable, it is aligned with the circular economy concepts reducing green house gases and removing process to reduce carbon footprint. The process can be realised at low cost and is proven to show Entoplast's eco-friendly natural fluid extraction system yields significantly higher masses than current sources.

Entoplast is producing valuable biopolymers (chitin/chitosan) that are extracted from insects (the Black Soldier Fly) able of reprocessing large quantities of organic waste. Currently, 95% of chitin/chitosan is sourced from shellfish. The scalability of existing methods is difficult as production relies on the fishery industry waste, it needs harmful chemicals for chitin/chitosan isolation and yields low output volumes. However, the chitin/chitosan global market is still completely dependent on crustaceans even if the production from this source is poorly efficient in terms of volumes, costs and quality of the output products. Despite those limitations, the global market is valued at £1B, potentially increasing to £3B by the decade's end. This project carries a novel approach to producing chitin/chitosan bioplastic from insects as an appropriate feedstock in multiple industries. In this context, our preferred target is the market of pharmaceutical products where chitin and chitosan are highly appreciated for their antiseptic and biocompatible properties. Since chitin is a major component of the insect cuticle, Entoplast's process is based on sourcing chitin/chitosan from the Black Soldier Fly. This fly species was chosen because its larvae grow feeding massive quantities of a wide variety of organic waste, transforming it into biomass. Given the almost unlimited availability of organic waste, our process is highly scalable, it is aligned with circular economy concepts and can be realized at low costs. Furthermore, previous experiments proved that Entoplast's chemical extraction system yields, from the Black Soldier Fly, higher masses than the current crustacean sources. The aim of this application is to refine our chitin/chitosan isolation method to increase the quality and the quantity of the output products and secure 4% of the UK/European market.