What is IMAGO's poultry manure technology?

It's an enclosed insect bioreactor that uses the housefly, Musca domestica, to convert manure into protein and fertilizer. This poultry waste technology is modular, patented and automation-ready.

How does the housefly bioconversion process work?

Fresh manure, rice husk and enzymes feed the bioreactor, where larvae convert the substrate over 4 days. Housefly bioconversion then separates larval protein from frass fertilizer.

Why houseflies instead of black soldier flies?

The housefly grows fastest (4 days vs 7–18 for black soldier fly) and yields 55–67% crude protein, the highest of the three species. This manure-to-protein technology also runs one plant per farm rather than many small units.

Is the poultry manure technology safe?

Yes. The larvae suppress pathogenic microflora, and additional thermal and chemical treatment eliminates pathogens. The enclosed bioreactor contains odor and process stages.

What are the outputs of the bioreactor?

Protein (insect meal) for B2B feed and granulated organic fertilizer from frass. Pupae are recycled back into the insectarium breeding cycle.

Can the insect bioreactor technology scale?

Yes. It comes as a 41 t/month Container Unit or a 1,000–7,000 t/month Production Plant, with modular bioreactors and no upper capacity limit.

Technology

Poultry manure technology: an enclosed housefly bioreactor

Imago Engineering uses a controlled modular process based on Housefly larvae bioconversion to turn poultry manure into marketable protein and organic fertilizer at industrial speed.

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Input: Poultry manure
Cycle time: 4 days
Outputs: Protein + fertilizer
System type: Enclosed modular bioreactor
Deployment: On-site at poultry farm

Overview

A poultry manure technology built on an enclosed loop

The Imago process is built around a closed-loop production logic in which fresh poultry manure is processed in a controlled environment using a selected Housefly population. The system is designed for speed, scalability, biosecurity, and industrial deployment. We have solutions for farms of all sizes above 10,000 poultry heads.

Process Flow

Insect bioreactor technology, stage by stage

From on-farm manure collection to finished protein and granulated fertilizer, every stage runs inside a controlled, modular system.

1
Poultry farm manure collection
2
Input balancing / substrate preparation
3
Enclosed bioreactor stage
4
Larva conversion
5
Separation of larvae from fertilizer mix
6
Insectarium cycle
A controlled colony produces eggs fed into the bioreactor.
7
Protein output
8
Granulated organic fertilizer output

System

Core poultry manure technology components

The plant is assembled from a defined set of modular subsystems, each engineered for a distinct stage of the conversion process.

Fresh manure intake system

Bioreactor modules

Biological conversion stage

Insectarium

Separation and finishing line

Fertilizer granulation

Monitoring and automation layer

Why Housefly

Why Housefly (Musca domestica)

Imago Engineering is built around Housefly-based bioconversion because of its rapid processing cycle, suitability for poultry manure as feedstock, and industrial efficiency under controlled conditions.

Comparison of farmed-insect species. The Housefly column is the highlighted, best-fit option for poultry-manure bioconversion.
	HouseflyIMAGO	Black Soldier Fly	Mealworm
Growth rate	Fastest - 4 days	Slow (7–18 days)	Very slow (40–60 days)
Raw material	Poultry manure	Food waste	Purchased raw materials
Technology format	Bioreactor	Trays	Trays
Crude protein in meal	55–67%	40–50%	50–55%
Feed application	Poultry, aquaculture (B2B)	Pets (B2C)	Human (B2C)
Scalability	One poultry farm — one insect plant	Needs many smaller producers	Too expensive
Protein meal price	$500–1,500/ton	$2,000–4,000/ton	$5,000–6,000/ton
CAPEX per 1 ton protein	$2,000–3,000	$6,000–9,000	$12,000–20,000

HouseflyIMAGO

Growth rate: Fastest - 4 days
Raw material: Poultry manure
Technology format: Bioreactor
Crude protein in meal: 55–67%
Feed application: Poultry, aquaculture (B2B)
Scalability: One poultry farm — one insect plant
Protein meal price: $500–1,500/ton
CAPEX per 1 ton protein: $2,000–3,000

Black Soldier Fly

Growth rate: Slow (7–18 days)
Raw material: Food waste
Technology format: Trays
Crude protein in meal: 40–50%
Feed application: Pets (B2C)
Scalability: Needs many smaller producers
Protein meal price: $2,000–4,000/ton
CAPEX per 1 ton protein: $6,000–9,000

Mealworm

Growth rate: Very slow (40–60 days)
Raw material: Purchased raw materials
Technology format: Trays
Crude protein in meal: 50–55%
Feed application: Human (B2C)
Scalability: Too expensive
Protein meal price: $5,000–6,000/ton
CAPEX per 1 ton protein: $12,000–20,000

Insects as feed and organic fertilizer are recognised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as a route to more circular livestock systems.

Advantages

Our poultry waste technology advantages

A flat, non-exhaustive list of the operational, environmental and commercial advantages the technology is engineered to deliver.

Safe process logic

Green technology orientation

Enclosed bioreactor system

Fully automated modular system

Cost-effective production

Fast 4-day processing

Reduced land pollution

Reduced odor around the farm

Lower space requirement

Lower energy intensity vs some alternatives

Remote monitoring potential

AI-assisted predictive maintenance potential

Adaptable to poultry farms of various sizes

Patented / patent-backed positioning

Comparison

IMAGO Technology vs traditional solutions

Against every other poultry-manure processing method, the housefly bioreactor wins on processing time, revenue per ton and scalability.

Comparison of poultry-manure processing technologies. IMAGO (Housefly bioreactor) is the highlighted, best-performing row.
Technology	Processing time	Products	Cost / wet ton	Energy kWh / ton	Space m² (400k birds)	Revenue / wet ton
Housefly (IMAGO)Best fit	4 days	Protein, Organic Fertilizer	$122	260	2,500	$291
Traditional Composting	90–180 days	Organic Fertilizer	$10–30	5–20	9,000–18,000	$10–30
Accelerated Composting	25–140 days	Organic Fertilizer	$40–60	200–250	3,000–6,000	$40–60
Biofuel (Anaerobic)	15–30 days	Biogas, Fertilizer	$20–100	100–400	3,000–6,000	$50–110
Pyrolysis(Limited Scalability)	<1 day	Bio-oil, Syngas, Biochar	$100–250	1,000–2,000	1,000–1,500	$130–230

Processing time: 4 days
Products: Protein, Organic Fertilizer
Cost / wet ton: $122
Energy kWh / ton: 260
Space m² (400k birds): 2,500
Revenue / wet ton: $291

Poultry Manure Technology at IMAGO Engineering centers on an enclosed insect bioreactor that runs on the housefly, Musca domestica. This poultry waste technology completes a full manure-to-protein cycle in 4 days, yielding 55–67% crude protein insect meal plus granulated organic fertilizer. Housefly bioconversion replaces slow composting with a modular, automation-ready system. It consumes much less electricity than pyrolysis and as such has much better scalability and an unbeatable financial performance.

Plant Formats

Insect bioreactor technology deployment formats

Two modular formats scale the technology from pilot validation to full industrial production.

Container Unit

Pilot / small-scale validation

Pilot deployment; smaller sites
Testing feasibility and product quality

Capacity: 41 tons/month
Estimated ROI: 2.5–3 years

Production Plant

Poultry farms above 50,000 birds

Modular bioreactor architecture
Scalable layout

Capacity: 1-7K tons/month
Estimated ROI: 2.5–4 years

ESG & circular economy

Sustainable agriculture solutions, in engineering-credible terms

The same enclosed, modular process turns poultry manure into productive circular value — Environmental, Social and Governance gains, every one either backed by a figure or explicitly framed as a feasibility-study output.

Environmental

Reduced land pollution from unmanaged manure stockpiles
Lower odor exposure
Enclosed process design
Better use of organic nutrient streams
Potential contribution to lower emissions intensity versus unmanaged accumulation

Social

Cleaner farm surroundings
Less nuisance for nearby communities
More structured sanitary management
Industrial jobs in circular agri-processing

Governance

Controlled industrial workflow
Modular process documentation
Measurable throughput
Auditable production logic
Potential for remote monitoring and reporting

Circular Impact

A closed loop that pays for itself

Turning poultry waste into high-value insect protein and organic fertilizer, sequestering emissions and transforming a 2% global GHG problem into a sustainable profit engine.

of global greenhouse-gas emissions — the problem IMAGO turns into profit

Side products: organic fertilizer and ammonia water — complementary inputs for soil fertilization.

Insect-plant benefits

Zero emissions
Zero waste
Fully automated system
Cost-effective technology

Loop stage 03 / 6

Insect Plant

Zero emissions · zero waste · fully automated.

High crude contentHigh digestibilityLow fat and long shelf-life

Additional benefits for the poultry farm

Most efficient waste recycling solution

Increasing the value of organic fertilizer

Retaining customers for organic fertilizer

Freeing up significant space for waste management

Obtaining additional, more valuable products

Reducing the number of insects on a poultry farm

Metrics we can assess during feasibility study

Manure throughput
Land-use reduction vs current practice
Potential product output
Process footprint
Operational integration indicators

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about IMAGO Poultry Manure Technology

It's an enclosed insect bioreactor that uses the housefly, Musca domestica, to convert manure into protein and fertilizer. This poultry waste technology is modular, patented and automation-ready.

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