Liquid Hot Water (LHW) and Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) of Coffee Berry Waste: Kinetics, Catalysis, and Optimization for the Synthesis of Platform Chemicals

Alejandra Sophia Lozano-Pérez () and Carlos Alberto Guerrero-Fajardo
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Alejandra Sophia Lozano-Pérez: Departamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
Carlos Alberto Guerrero-Fajardo: Departamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá 111321, Colombia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-27

Abstract: Colombia is the world’s leading producer of mildly washed arabica coffee and produces 12.6 million bags of green coffee, but at the same time, 784,000 tons of waste biomass are dumped in open fields, of which only 5% is recovered or used. The objective of this project was to evaluate the production of platform chemicals from these coffee wastes for sustainable resource management. To achieve this, biomass characterization was carried out using proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, and structural analysis. Hydrothermal valorization was carried out at a temperature range of 120–180 °C (LHW) and 180–260 °C (HTC) for one hour. The platform chemicals obtained were quantified by HPLC-RI and monitored by pH and conductivity, and the solid fraction was characterized by monitoring the functional groups in IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Hydrolysis processes were obtained at 150 °C, production of platform chemicals at 180 °C, and maximum concentration at 180 °C-4 h; over 200 °C, degradation of the products in the liquid fraction starts to take place. Homogeneous basic and acid catalysts were used to improve the yields of the reaction. The kinetics of the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic structures to sugars were also analyzed and described, and reaction orders of 1 (LHW), 3 (HTC), and their respective reaction rate equations were reported.

Keywords: coffee berry waste; valorization; hydrothermal process; kinetic analysis; platform chemicals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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