Biomass valorization through biorefinery:
Spent coffee Grounds (SCG) as a case study

Seminar by Assoc. Prof. Gopalakrishnan Kumar, UiS
Place: Lunch area of the Chemistry Department; UiS, Kjølv Egelands hus, Next to room C-234.

Pizza will be served 🙂

After the seminar will be a General Meeting. All new board members will have been contacted beforehand.

Abstract

The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive targets 30% of total energy supply to be obtained from renewables by 2023. To achieve this goal, extensive research is needed to assess the potential of biofuels. Consequently, waste can play a key role in this regard not only to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate the emissions but also to help assist proper waste management disposal system in any country. This talk aims to valorize and shadow the light into various waste resources such as “Spent Coffee Grounds” (SCG). SCG can be used as fuel due to its high calorific compared to other biomass residues. SCG has high nitrogen content which can be decomposed through vermicomposting. The extracted oil from SCG can be processed to biodiesel while glycerin (by product) can be converted to butanol or hydrogen as alternative fuels. Moreover, the oil is also an excellent raw material for both textile and bio plastic industries. The remaining waste after oil extraction can be used to produce bioethanol, biogas, fertilizer and fuel pellets. Anaerobic co-digestion has been already proposed in literature to produce biogas from SCG due to its excellent properties as a substrate.Moreover, antioxidant and anti-tumor activities were recently report in SCG. SCG can be used to remove heavy metals, extraction of high-value compounds and feedstock for activated carbon production. SCG is also considered an inexpensive adsorbent for the removal of cationic dyes in wastewater treatments indicated that cellulose can be used for the pulp and paper production. The outcome of this review reveals that SCG is an excellent raw material for a variety of industry options and, therefore protects the environment from hazardous emissions, reduces the consumption of raw materials, saves the landfill and promotes the recycling of waste into high quality and cheap products.

Publisert av nksrog