A biorefinery for spent coffee grounds

Aanleiding

The Netherlands has set the ambition to reduce greenhouse gases by 95% in 2050 compared to 1990. To reduce CO2 emissions and use fewer resources, the country has also set goals to become more circular. This also includes circularity in different industrial chains.

This project is focused on the waste stream related to spent coffee grounds (SCGs). In the Netherlands, 150,000 tons of SCGs are produced. Most of the SCGs are currently incinerated or digested, during which a lot of CO2 is emitted. There is a large demand for a more sustainable way of processing SCGs, but there is currently no party that can do this on a large scale. Caffe Inc. aims to turn SCGs into valuable resources by valorising the waste stream into ingredients. Their ultimate goal is to develop the world’s largest biorefinery for SCGs.

Doelstelling

The aim of this project is twofold:

1. To realise and test a pilot line for SCGs.
2. To conduct R&D on additional valorisation possibilities to prepare for scaling up to industrial scale.

This pilot line with a continuous process will focus on the valorisation of SCGs into coffee oil and blocks, while conducting R&D on additional valorisation in the form of coffee colorants. In this pilot installation, 15 tons of SCGs will be processed in 2022 and 150 tons in 2023.

After the realisation of the pilot installation, Caffe Inc. aims to scale up to an industrial scale installation, with a capacity of 10,000 tons of SCGs a year in the Netherlands. Through the activities of Caffe Inc., fewer virgin resources will be needed as the ingredients derived from SCGs will be able to replace them in several applications, such as the personal care industry.

Korte omschrijving

Caffe Inc. will start the project in Q1 2022. To realise the pilot installation in R&D, Caffe Inc. will focus on several activities. The R&D on additional valorisation possibilities will take place in WP2, focusing on both coffee oil and coffee colorants.

In WP3, detail engineering of the pilot line will be done and how the installation can be connected to the location's services in the best way. In WP4, the pilot line will be constructed. Tests with the pilot line will also be conducted to eventually know the right conditions for scaling up to an industrial setting in the next phase. In the last WP, the validation of the products and process will take place.

Resultaat

The result of this process will be a developed, tested, and validated pilot production line of coffee oil and coffee blocks, ready for industrial scale. In addition, Caffe Inc. will have realised an up-scaled colorant extraction process and further development of the coffee oil refinery, which leads to the expansion of the Caffe Inc. product portfolio.

In addition, significant CO2 savings will be realised. The results will enable the next step to an industrial plant, which Caffe Inc. intends to build after the project. The pilot will also contribute to the rise of SCGs as a circular case, as coffee is a resource that everyone can relate to, making the circular economy more tangible to a wider audience.