Effective treatment of coffee waste liquid solid by using natural coagulant

Abstract

Over the past few decades, biotechnology based waste recycling has offered and proved its potential for the remediation of industrial discharges and consequently the approach was accepted as a viable, sustainable and also the most reliable ecofriendly method to ensure environmental health. The coffee industries are one of the major economic growth supporters of India; whereas they are the serious, hidden, and silent environmental polluters too. The ripe coffee cherries pulped for quality coffee bean isolation, through the wet processing method generates large quantity of liquid and solid waste enclosed with organic pollutants, which is hazardous for the ecosystem once ignored. Hence, this research was performed to manage the liquid waste (coffee cherry pulping wastewater) and solid biomasses (coffee husk, coffee pulp) generated from wet coffee cherry pulping units, through green techniques. The coffee cherry pulping wastewater (CCPWW) released from the processing unit was characterized for different physico-chemical parameters, as per the APHA standards and the results were compared against the CPCB effluent discharge criterion. The physico-chemical factors particularly colour, pH, TDS and COD exceeded the standard limits. This insisted on the need for wastewater treatment prior to discharge. Besides the wastewater generation, the processing unit also disposes of solid biomasses like wet coffee husk and coffee pulp, which are reported to be sources of minerals and nutrient. Accumulation and organic matter percolation from these squander annihilate the vicinity with odour pollution, flies menace and endanger agricultural practices. This threat also necessitated its immediate remediation for reutilization. newline