Analysis of the possibility for obtaining oil from the spend coffee grounds as potential raw material for biodiesel production

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to investigate the possibility of obtaining oil from spent coffee grounds, which are left behind after the coffee is prepared, as the potential feedstock for biodiesel production. The effect of process parameters, such as are the type of solvent, the ratio of spent coffee grounds/solvent and the extraction time on oil yielded from coffee grounds was examined. The oil was obtained by maceration and extraction in the Soxhlet apparatus. The obtain results show that the spent coffee grounds could be used as an alternative raw material for biodiesel production, because it contains a significant amount of oil that can be extracted. The oil yield depends on the extraction (maceration) process parameters. The maximum oil yield obtained by the Soxhlet extraction with the n-hexane for the period of 5 h was 11.85% (the weight percentage of oil on dry mater), whereas with petroleum ether the oil yield was slightly lower and amounted to 10.44%. The yield of the oil extracted by maceration increases with the decrease of spent coffee grounds/solvent ratio from 1/3 to 1/7 (g/cm3), and other parameters being constant. The oil yield increases with the duration of the maceration. Greater oil yield, ranging from 3 to 8.5%, can be obtained with n-hexane compared to the extraction with petroleum ether. Furthermore, n-hexane is less volatile and flammable, compared to petroleum ether, so it is more convenient to use.