SCG Totalizer. A web platform that strengthens the use of Spent Coffee Grounds as potential renewable source of green energy for pellet production

Bc. Oscar René Montano Ramírez

Master's thesis

Abstract:

The industrialization and commercialization of coffee produce a huge amount of waste around the world, much of this waste is Spent Coffee Grounds (SCG) which ends up in landfills contaminating the environment. SCGs contain great energy potential as a solid fuel. The literature on the use of SCG as solid fuel more specifically SCG-based pellets is extensive, however, depending on the objectives of the study, some aspects and/or key characteristics of these are examined and others are not, with no reference framework stablished specifically for SCG-based pellets. Through this study, a bibliographic search and summarization of the current information was carried out, thus, the values reported for each of the main characteristics of the SCG-based pellets have been collected, and the average/standard values were found out. According to the calculations, the standardized characteristics of SCG-based pellets are: Initial moisture content (IMC) 57.08 % (wet basis), Optimal moisture content (OMC) 10.53 % (wet basis), Net calorific value (NCV) 19.69 MJ kg-1 (dry basis), Gross calorific value (GCV) 23.65 MJ kg-1 (dry basis), Mechanical durability 76.23 %, Bulk Density (BD) 909.25 kg m-3 (wet basis), Ash content 1.71 % (dry basis), Economic value 0.12 EUR kg-1 and the dimensions as 15 mm long, 8 mm in diameter. With the established frame of reference, this study created a web platform seeking to help calculating the energy potential contained in a specific amount of SCG in order to provide a broader picture of their use as a renewable energy resource, in addition to facilitating access to information, which could be useful for different target groups.

Keywords

coffee residues, waste biomass, waste-to-energy, web applications, solid biofuels, fuel-energy properties, energy potential calculator

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 24. 4. 2023

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Bc. Ing. Tatiana Alexiou Ivanova, Ph.D.
• Reader: Juan Rodrigo Sanz Uribe, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme:
Agri-food Systems and Rural Development