• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.209-214
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• 2021

As coffee consumption per person increases annually to 323 cups in 2018, treating the spent coffee ground has arisen because spent coffee ground results in soil and air pollution. The demands of air purification filters are increasing more and more because the air pollution due to the fine dust has become worse. The spent coffee grounds had a porous structure, however, the pore was blocked by organic oil compounds. Electrocoagulation, which is one of the electrochemical methods, has the potential to remove the organic compounds. The surface area of spent coffee grounds increased effectively after the electrocoagulation treatment, and surface morphology and surface area were confirmed using SEM and BET, respectively. Using the FT-IR, both the spent coffee grounds and the electrocoagulated spent coffee grounds were characterized. The filter characteristics were examined by the adsorption test using formaldehyde, one of the air pollutants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.63-64
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• 2023

In order to reduce the high absorption ratio of spent coffee grounds, this study examined the compressive strength and absorption ratio of mortar replacing coated spent coffee grounds according to the type of water repellent. In order to examine this, as the water repellent used, a silane-based water repellent (fluorine-based water repellent) and an acrylic-based water repellent, which are film-type water repellents, and a silane/siloxane-based water repellent, which are penetration-type water repellents, were used. The spent coffee grounds were coated with each of three water repellents, and mortar was prepared by mixing cement and fine aggregate. As a result of the experiment, the compressive strength and absorption ratio of the mortar replaced with coated spent coffee grounds coated with the film-type water repellent were superior to the penetration-type water repellent. Therefore, in order to reduce the high absorption ratio of spent coffee grounds, a suitable water repellent is a film-type water repellent. Among them, it is judged that the acrylic type has excellent water repellency and is suitable.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.29-35
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• 2013

This research analyzed the fuel characteristic change of spent coffee bean by torrefaction. The calorific value was increased from 4,974 kcal/kg to 6,075 kcal/kg ($260^{\circ}C$, 30min), 6,452 kcal/kg ($270^{\circ}C$, 30min), 6,823 kcal/kg ($280^{\circ}C$, 30min), 6,970 kcal/kg ($260^{\circ}C$, 30min). The highest energy yield was obtained when the spent coffee bean were torrefied on the condition of $280^{\circ}C$, 30min. The moisture absorption rate was decreased from 5.12% to 2.76% when the spent coffee bean were torrefied on the condition of $290^{\circ}C$, 30min. Lignin was increased from 11.33% to 14.39% on the condition of $260^{\circ}C$ 30min. But it did not preferability to torrefy spent coffee bean at temperature of more than $270^{\circ}C$ because lignin decreases to the level that is hard to make pellet.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.178-187
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Spent coffee grounds are the most valuable resource for agriculture and industry. However, it is almost thrown untreated into landfills or incineration. Composting is an efficient process for converting spent coffee to fertilizer. METHODS AND RESULTS: Composting was conducted in the compost pile (40 ㎥) equipped with a forced aeration system. Physical and chemical properties containing temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, and moisture were measured through the composting period. Moreover, biological changes were examined for the composting phase using Illumina Miseq sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. We found 7-14 phyla comprising 250-716 species from a variety phase of compost. During the composting period, Firmicutes were dominated, followed by Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. CONCLUSION: The result indicated that the use of spent coffee improved the quality of organic fertilizer and changed the microbial communities, unique to the thermal composting stage, which could enhance the composting process. These findings suggest that spent coffee composted material can provide a significant amount of nutrients, thereby supporting plant growth.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.59-70
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• 2023

This study aims to introduce a biowaste processing system that uses spent coffee grounds and implement a real options method to evaluate the proposed process. Energy systems based on eco-friendly fuels lack sufficient data, and thus along with conventional approaches, they lack the techno-economic assessment required for great input qualities. On the other hand, real options analysis can estimate the different costs of options, such as continuing or abandoning a project, by considering uncertainties, which can lead to better decision-making. This study investigated the feasibility of a biowaste processing method using spent coffee grounds to produce biofuel and considered three different valuation models, which were the net present value using discounted cash flow, the Black-Scholes and binomial models. The suggested biowaste processing system consumes 200 kg/h of spent coffee grounds. The system utilizes a tilted-slide pyrolysis reactor integrated with a heat exchanger to warm the air, a combustor to generate a primary heat source, and a series of condensers to harness the biofuel. The result of the net present value is South Korean Won (KRW) -225 million, the result of the binomial model is KRW 172 million, and the result of the Black-Scholes model is KRW 1,301 million. These results reveal that a spent coffee ground-related biowaste processing system is worthy of investment from a real options valuation perspective.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.462-466
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• 2023

After treating spent coffee grounds with alkali, extracts were prepared by using Viscozyme and Alcalase, respectively. Treatment of spent coffee grounds with alkali and enzymes increased the content of phenolic compounds in the extracts, thus possessing the good scavenging activities on free and cation radicals. In particular, the extract obtained by continuous treatment with alkali and Alcalase on spent coffee grounds had the best content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity, and inhibited the growth of Streptococcus mutans in proportion to the concentration. In conclusion, the Alcalase-enzymatic hydrolysate of alkali-treated spent coffee grounds showed excellent antioxidant and anticariogenic effects.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2016

The reuse of spent coffee powder has been researched for environmental engineering applications such as adsorbents of organic/inorganic pollutants. In this study adsorption equilibrium tests and adsorption kinetics tests for the removal of aqueous organic pollutant (methylene blue) were conducted using spent coffee powder, granular activated carbon, and powdered activated carbon. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity of three adsorbents followed the order of powdered activated carbon (178.6 mg/g) > spent coffee powder (60.6 mg/g) > granular activated carbon (15.6 mg/g). The results of adsorption kinetics tests also indicated that spent coffee powder had higher kinetic parameters than granular activated carbon for pseudo 1st and 2nd order kinetics. The high performance of spent coffee powder might be due to its porous surface like those of granular and powdered activated carbons and smaller particle size comparing with granular activated carbon.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1205-1214
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• 2018

During the past few decades, significant increase in the consumption of coffee has led to rapid increase in the production of coffee waste in South Korea. Spent coffee waste is often treated as a general waste and is directly disposed without the necessary treatment. Spent Coffee Grounds (SCGs) can release several organic contaminants, including caffeine. In this study, leaching tests were conducted for SCGs and oxidative degradation of caffeine were also conducted. The tested SCGs contained approximately 4.4 mg caffeine per gram of coffee waste. Results from the leaching tests show that approximately 90% of the caffeine can be extracted at each step during sequential extraction. Advanced oxidation methods for the degradation of caffeine, such as $UV/H_2O_2$, photo-Fenton reaction, and $UV/O_3$, were tested. UV radiation has a limited effect on the degradation of caffeine. In particular, UV-A and UV-B radiations present in sunlight cause marginal degradation, thereby indicating that natural degradation of caffeine is minimal. However, $O_3$ can cause rapid degradation of caffeine, and the values of pseudo-first order rate constants were found to be ranging from $0.817min^{-1}$ to $1.506min^{-1}$ when the ozone generation rate was $37.1g/m^3$. Additionally, the degradation rate of caffeine is dependent on the wavelength of irradiation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2017

The lignocellulose that is a major component of spent coffee ground was degraded and saccharified. To implement the spent coffee, after several pre-treatments, inoculation of Phanerochaete chrysosporium and solid-state fermentation were conducted. The optimal temperature of the enzymes (lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, xylanase, laccase, and cellulase) for degradation of lignocellulose by P. chrysosporium was found. We also measured the maximum activity of enzymes (lignin peroxidase 0.15 IU/mL, manganese peroxidase 0.90 IU/mL, laccase 0.11 IU/mL, cellulase 5.87 IU/mL, carboxymethyl cellulase 9.52 IU/mL, xylanase 1.16 IU/mL) used for the process. As a result, 4.73 mg/mL of reduced sugar was obtained and 61.02% of lignin was degraded by solid state fermentation of P. chrysosporium on spent coffee ground.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.106-111
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• 2014

Wheat sprout (Triticum aestivum) shows excellent nutritional and health effects due to the contents in amino acids, minerals, and other nutrients rich in chlorophyll and vitamins. In this study, spent coffee grounds were used to cultivate the wheat sprout for 12 day. An amount of 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% (w/w, based on commercial sterile soil media) spent coffee grounds were used under the same conditions. Total length and weight of wheat sprout, aboveand below-ground length and weight, and the chloropyll contents were compared. Soil media were analyzed before and after wheat cultivation, showing that 40% and 60% (w/w) coffee media promoted wheat growth in view of length and weight. Chlorophyll contents in each group showed almost constant values, while 100% (w/w) coffee media led to a slight decrease. In conclusion, spent coffee grounds stimulated wheat growth, showing nearly stable contents of chlorophyll.