Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491365
26 STiR tea & coffee industry international W aste from processing coffee is a pollution problem. During the past 10-20 years many have invested in possible solutions to slow or stop the envi- ronmental damage associated with wet milling but no one has achieved widespread success at large-scale operations. Many techniques to convert coffee byproducts to less harmful or even potentially life-sustaining solutions work well enough at small scale. While preventing pollution at the micro level is laudable, addressing the harmful waste from large-scale operations is a more critical task. "When you go on tour of origin, you follow the green bean," explains Dan Bel- liveau, founder of CF Holdings, a company that makes Coffee Flour. "It's fermenting. It's being dried. It's on patios or it's in dryers and then it's being warehoused." Belliveau is also chief executive office of NohBell Corporation. "When you ask about waste byproduct, they only tell you the small piece that seems somewhat palatable," he said. Cleaning up waterways, preventing pollution, protecting biodiversity, conserving water reaps the short-term benefit of a publicity boost. But pursuing long-term solutions that yield a truly sustainable product pose a greater chal- lenge being met by a new wave of coffee waste innovation. Bio-gas One well-financed project to generate alternate fuel took place from 2001-2004 in Viet- nam. This private public partnership (PPP) was backed by expertise and funding from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, Douwe Egberts, and Kraft Foods (now Mondelez International). The Khe Sanh Pilot Water Treatment Plant was chosen for the project. An anaero- bic settling pond with artificial aerators, bio-gas reactors, and a small manmade wetland was constructed to reclaim and treat processing water from coffee pulpers. Jan von Enden, general manager at E.D.E. Consulting GmbH, writes that the goal was to filter solids out of wastewater and reduce its polluting effects. According to von Enden, a second larger phase to expand the use of this design followed at the conclusion of the initial pilot. The results were promising but like simi- lar attempts in the coffee-producing nations in Central America, none have advanced beyond a proof of concept. A 2010 report describes why: Researcher Gieljam Schutgens, who was a student in the master of sanitary engi- neering at Delft University of Technology at the time, concluded that early estimates about how much bio-gas would be produced by anaerobic conversion projects were too high. He also found that the costs of chemicals needed to operate the facility and lack of readily available technical expertise were significant obstacles to adoption by Making the Most of Waste Coffee Waste Processing Innovations Coffee pulp piled three feet deep. Dan Belliveau, founder CF Holdings. Photos Courtesy of Dan Belliveau Photo Courtesy of Intellectual Ventures Both qishr and cascara are made from coffee cherries using a natural process. Refined coffee flour is a byproduct Photo courtesy of Maureen Jansen Photos courtesy of Café Imports By Jenny Neill