Pre-Treatment of Spent Coffee Grounds Using Hydrodynamic Cavitation

Aleksandra Szaja (), Agnieszka Montusiewicz, Sylwia Pasieczna-Patkowska, Elżbieta Grządka, Jerzy Montusiewicz and Magdalena Lebiocka
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Aleksandra Szaja: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Montusiewicz: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Sylwia Pasieczna-Patkowska: Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Maria Curie-Skłodowska Sq. 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Elżbieta Grządka: Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Maria Curie-Skłodowska Sq. 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
Jerzy Montusiewicz: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 38A, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Magdalena Lebiocka: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) constitute the main solid residue of the coffee brewing process. SCGs are generated in significant amounts daily, worldwide. The effective management of this waste through biological processes is still an unresolved problem. In this study, the application of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) as a pre-treatment method for improving the biodegradability of SCGs suspended in municipal wastewater was proposed. An orifice plate with a conical concentric hole having inlet/outlet diameter of 3/10 mm was applied as the cavitation inducer. Three inlet pressures were chosen: 3, 5 and 7 bar. The effects in time intervals of 0, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 45 min were evaluated. The application of HC led to enhanced biodegradability for each case. The results of multi-criteria decision indicated that the most efficient combination in terms of biodegradability and energy usage was obtained at the pressure of 5 bar and duration of 20 or 30 min, depending on the adopted weights. The improvements of DOC/TOC (dissolved organic carbon/total organic carbon) ratio were 57% and 71%, as compared to the untreated samples. The release of caffeine was found at pressures of 5 and 7 bar. However, at 5 bar, this effect was noticed for the longest times, 30 and 45 min, respectively.

Keywords: spent coffee grounds; hydrodynamic cavitation; pre-treatment prior anaerobic digestion; caffeine; enhanced biodegradability; zeta potential; FT-IR/ATR; multi-criteria decision-making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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