Integrated Design of Biorefineries Based on Spent Coffee Grounds

Abstract

The circular economy concept applied to the management of Spent coffee Ground is an opportunity to obtain a portfolio of high added-value products and reducing the environmental impact while increasing the profitability and reducing the energy consumption of the soluble coffee production process. A systematic analysis of the alternatives is performed to unveil integration opportunities and find synergies aiming at the optimal set of processes and products. In this work, five products, dry natural extract, dry natural pigment for the textile industry, biogas, digestate, and electrical energy, throughout 3 different processes are considered. A systematic techno-economic analysis of all processes is carried out and two processes were found economically promising, the production of power and the production of natural extract and pigment. The production of natural pigment and natural extract is the most profitable process with a profit 10 times greater than the production of electrical energy. The operation and investment costs are 4.25 MM€/year and 14.1 MM€ respectively. The use of SCG to produce biodiesel is discarded after the analysis. Therefore, it is possible to achieve economic benefit from the treatment of this waste.

Multiperiod Design and Optimization of Coprocessing of Vacuum Gas Oil and Bio-oil Integrating Supply Fluctuations of Lignocellulosic and Algal Biomass

“…The assumptions made for the model contain: 8,21 (1) Ash in straw and algae is ignored. (2) The consumption of nutrient, flocculants, water, and electricity is assumed linear with the relevant feed stream flow rates. (3) The product yields of HDT processes and FCC are not affected when bio-oil is coprocessed.…”

“…It is known that global warming and acid rain are triggered by the over consumption of fossil fuels . The development and utilization of bioenergy are one of the ways to reduce the over dependence on fossil energy . As the only carbon-contained renewable energy, bioenergy is able to partially replace fossil energy, which can be converted to fuels, chemicals, and other gas products. , However, the cost of biofuels is generally much higher than the one of fossil fuels as a biorefinery needs a large capital investment. , …”

Multilayer Approach for Product Portfolio Optimization: Waste to Added-Value Products

“…Thus, the circular economy concept is a strategy that improves the economics and the environmental impact 3 as it can be seen in previous cases in the orange 4 and coffee 5 industries and the production of biofuels 6 .…”

“…If such wastes were used as raw materials (RM) to produce added-value products or to generate energy, they become a valuable resource. Thus, the circular economy concept is a strategy that improves the economics and the environmental impact 3 as it can be seen in previous cases in the orange 4 and coffee 5 industries and the production of biofuels. 6 In the case of processing olives to produce olive oil, several wastes are produced including branches, leaves, and a wet solid lignocellulosic material called "alperujo".…”

“…If such wastes were used as raw materials (RM) to produce added-value products or to generate energy, they become a valuable resource. Thus, the circular economy concept is a strategy that improves the economics and the environmental impact as it can be seen in previous cases in the orange and coffee industries and the production of biofuels …”