STiR coffee and tea magazine

Volume 4, Number 2

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28 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 2, 2015 (April/May) A year ago the European Commission began legal proceedings against the Unit- ed Kingdom for failing to meet 2010 pollution reduction targets. That same body has found itself under increasing public scrutiny after reports surfaced that it would no longer pursue ambitious air quality targets. The contents of "work plan proposals" leaked farther than European Union v.p. Frans Timmermans may have intended in December. Just four days after he shared (and collected back) paper copies of documents suggesting a number of waste and pol- lution related proposals be scrapped, the British daily newspaper The Guardian reported the story. A few days later, after many members of the European Parliament voiced discontent, the "flagship clean air directives" were back on the table. Of European air quality standards, Robert Austin, president and c.e.o. of Loring Smart Roast, Inc., said, "There are no uniform environmental standards – we wish there were." Thomas Koziorowski, director of product technology in research and development at PROBAT-Werke von Gimborn Maschinenfabrik GmbH (Probat), shared a similar opinion. He said, "In recent years, discussions regarding climatic issues worldwide have turned emission regulations into a dynamic subject as they are constantly under- going changes; emission limit values cannot simply be considered as being [a] given." What will the European Union Commission's clean air directives mean for coffee roasters or those who design and manufacture roasting equipment? "Europe seems at this time to be most concerned about smoke and smell, and less so about NOx, CO 2 , CO, etc. – but this whole issue is moving very quickly all over the world – so if you ask us tomorrow – the landscape may have changed," said Austin. Boutique coffee roasters, especially those outside urban areas, tend not to concern themselves with how public health outcries or climate change worries drive rulemak- ing. With so much discussion happening at international and national levels, now is the time for roasters big and small to evaluate which greenhouse gas precursors they release and how much particulate matter escapes during the roasting process. Matters of size and smell Countries in the European Union share one commonality when it comes to setting emissions standards: the bigger the facility, the more likely an air quality rule will ap- ply. Another similarity is that smaller roasters, those that roast 99 pounds or less per batch, tend to fall into a gray area where compliance may come down to keeping your neighbors happy more than anything else. Klaus Thomsen, head barista trainer and p.r. manager for Collective Coffee in Co- penhagen, Denmark, reported the company roasts about a ton a week at the Godthåbsvej roaster with a 35 kg Loring SmartRoast. Loring roasters roast the coffee and incinerate the smoke and odor with a single burner. Clean Burn Jos Cozijnsen, consulting attorney on emissions trading Photo Courtesy of Probat-Werke Photo Courtesy of Anguil Environmental Solutions How Roasters Can Stay Ahead of Evolving Air Quality Standards The Probat Proforte above uses a flameless, regenerative, thermal oxidation exhaust air cleaning system for maximum efficiency. By Jenny Neill

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