Monomers, Materials and Energy from Coffee By-Products: A Review

Laura Sisti, Annamaria Celli, Grazia Totaro, Patrizia Cinelli, Francesca Signori, Andrea Lazzeri, Maria Bikaki, Philippe Corvini, Maura Ferri, Annalisa Tassoni and Luciano Navarini
Additional contact information
Laura Sisti: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali, Università di Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Annamaria Celli: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali, Università di Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Grazia Totaro: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali, Università di Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Patrizia Cinelli: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Francesca Signori: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Andrea Lazzeri: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Maria Bikaki: FHNW, School of Life Sciences, Institute for Ecopreneurship, Hofackerstrasse 30, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
Philippe Corvini: FHNW, School of Life Sciences, Institute for Ecopreneurship, Hofackerstrasse 30, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
Maura Ferri: Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Annalisa Tassoni: Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Luciano Navarini: Illy Caffè S.p.A. Via Flavia 110, 34147 Trieste, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: In recent years, the circular economy and sustainability have gained attention in the food industry aimed at recycling food industrial waste and residues. For example, several plant-based materials are nowadays used in packaging and biofuel production. Among them, by-products and waste from coffee processing constitute a largely available, low cost, good quality resource. Coffee production includes many steps, in which by-products are generated including coffee pulp, coffee husks, silver skin and spent coffee. This review aims to analyze the reasons why coffee waste can be considered as a valuable source in recycling strategies for the sustainable production of bio-based chemicals, materials and fuels. It addresses the most recent advances in monomer, polymer and plastic filler productions and applications based on the development of viable biorefinery technologies. The exploration of strategies to unlock the potential of this biomass for fuel productions is also revised. Coffee by-products valorization is a clear example of waste biorefinery. Future applications in areas such as biomedicine, food packaging and material technology should be taken into consideration. However, further efforts in techno-economic analysis and the assessment of the feasibility of valorization processes on an industrial scale are needed.

Keywords: circular economy; food industrial waste; coffee waste; biotechnological conversion; biofuels; polymerisation; material production; zero waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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