The CirCo (Circular Coffee) Project: A Case Study on Valorization of Coffee Silverskin in the Context of Circular Economy in Italy

Emily Overturf, Simon Pezzutto, Martina Boschiero, Nicoletta Ravasio and Achille Monegato
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Emily Overturf: School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephaner Steig, 2285354 Freising, Germany
Simon Pezzutto: Institute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Martina Boschiero: Institute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC Research), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Nicoletta Ravasio: CNR-SCITEC, via C. Golgi 19, 20133 Milan, Italy
Achille Monegato: FAVINI srl, via Alcide De Gasperi 26, 36028 Rossano Veneto, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-17

Abstract: Coffee silverskin (CSS) is one of the main byproducts of coffee roasting and poses a potential risk to the environment if disposed of incorrectly. Each year in Italy, over 500,000 tonnes of green coffee are imported for roasting followed by consumption or export. This results in over 7500 tonnes of CSS produced each year which is typically disposed of as solid waste. Silverskin contains lignocellulose and can be used as a substitute for other raw materials to produce paper pulp. Both Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) were performed to compare the impact and cost of CSS paper production to conventional paper production using only virgin pulp. It was shown that the addition of CSS reduces the environmental impact of paper production by 10% and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 13% compared to conventional production with no cost increase (0.01% reduction with addition of CSS) for the producer. The results of this case study show that the utilization of CSS for paper production at the national level in Italy represents a suitable example of circular economy (CE).

Keywords: circular economy; life cycle assessment; life cycle costing; agri-industry residues; energy savings; waste valorization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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