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Feasibility of ethanol production from coffee husks

Article  in  Biotechnology Letters · June 2009

DOI: 10.1007/s10529-009-0023-4 · Source: PubMed

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Biotechnol Lett
DOI 10.1007/s10529-009-0023-4
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Feasibility of ethanol production from coffee husks
B. M. Gouvea Æ C. Torres Æ A. S. Franca Æ
L. S. Oliveira Æ E. S. Oliveira
Received: 1 February 2009 / Revised: 1 April 2009 / Accepted: 7 May 2009
Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009
Abstract The objective of this work was to eval-
uate the feasibility of ethanol production by fermen-
tation of coffee husks by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Batch fermentation studies were performed employ-
ing whole and ground coffee husks, and aqueous
extract from ground coffee husks. It was observed
that fermentation yield decreased with an increase in
yeast concentration. The best results were obtained
for the following conditions: whole coffee husks,
3 g yeast/l substrate, temperature of 30°C. Under
these conditions ethanol production was 8.49 ±
0.29 g/100 g dry basis (13.6 ± 0.5 g ethanol/l), a
satisfactory value in comparison to literature data for
other residues such as corn stalks, barley straw and
hydrolyzed wheat stillage (5–11 g ethanol/l). Such
results indicate that coffee husks present excellent
potential for residue-based ethanol production.
B. M. Gouvea
C. Torres
A. S. Franca (&)

L. S. Oliveira
DEQ/UFMG, R. Espirito Santo 35–6°andar,
Belo Horizonte, MG 30160-030, Brazil
e-mail: adriana@demec.ufmg.br
Present Address:
A. S. Franca
L. S. Oliveira
Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade
Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627,
Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901, Brazil
E. S. Oliveira
PPGCA/UFMG, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627,
Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901, Brazil
Keywords Bioethanol
Fermentation

Sticky coffee husks
Introduction
Green coffee beans are deemed as a commodity
ranking second only to petroleum in terms of currency
traded worldwide. Brazil is the largest coffee producer
and exporter in the world and the second largest
consumer. The production of coffee in Brazil in the
last 5 years ranged from 2.0 to 2.7 million tons
(Franca and Oliveira 2009). Thus, this commodity is
quite relevant to the country’s economy. Coffee husks
are the major solid residues from the handling and
processing of coffee, since for every kg of coffee
beans produced, approximately 1 kg of husks are
generated. Proposed alternative uses for coffee husks
include employing this solid residue as a supplement
for animal feed, direct use as fuel, fermentation for the
production of a diversity of products (enzymes, citric
acid and flavoring substances), use as a substrate for
growth of mushrooms and use as adsorbents (Franca
and Oliveira 2009). However, considering the high
amounts generated, there is still a need to find other
alternative uses for this solid residue. Given that such
residue consists mainly of the pulp and hull of the
coffee fruit, it presents a high concentration of
carbohydrates and thus can be viewed as a potential
raw material for bio-ethanol production. Furthermore,
the produced ethanol could be employed for biodiesel
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 Biotechnol Lett

production based on coffee oil obtained from defec- evaluated at 3, 4 and 5 g/l and fermentation temper-
tive coffee beans (Oliveira et al. 2008), thus further atures of 25, 30 and 35°C.
contributing to the implementation of sustainable
development in the coffee and biodiesel production
chains. Results and discussion
Recent studies indicate the excellent potential of
residue utilization for bio-ethanol production, given Characterization
that it does not involve costs related to raw material
growth. Furthermore, it is estimated that ethanol The proximate composition of the coffee husks
production from agricultural residues could increase employed in the present study was determined as
in 16 times the current production (Saha and Cotta 15.0% moisture, 5.4% ash, 7.0% protein, 0.3% lipids
2008). In view of the aforementioned, the objective and 72.3% carbohydrates. The high contents of
of this work was to perform a preliminary evaluation carbohydrates are expected, given the origin of such
of the feasibility of ethanol production by fermenta- solid residue, i.e., fruit pulp and outer skin. Cellulose,
tion of coffee husks. hemi-cellulose and lignin contents were 16, 11 and
9% dry basis, respectively. Such levels are low or at
most similar to other agricultural residues considered
Materials and methods as alternatives for ethanol production, including
sugarcane bagasse, barley and wheat straws, and rice
Materials husks, among others. This is an indication that this
solid residue seems quite promising for ethanol
Dry sticky coffee husks were provided by Samambaia production, given the high percentage of sugars that
Farm (Santo Antônio do Amparo, MG, Brazil). Instant are readily available for fermentation.
dry commercially available baker’s yeast Saccharo- It is noteworthy to mention that the coffee husks
myces cerevisiae (Fleischman) was employed (mini- employed in the present study are denominated sticky
mum cell viability of 78%). Batch fermentation coffee husks. Some attributes that differentiate this
studies were performed employing three substrates: specific type of coffee husks from the regular dry
whole coffee husks, ground coffee husks, and aqueous processed ones include its higher density, protein
extract from ground coffee husks. contents and lower fiber contents. A comparison with
chemical composition data obtained from the litera-
Analyses ture is presented in Table 1. However, the major
difference lies in its higher sugar contents (see
Proximate composition, reducing and total sugar Table 2), which is approximately twice the amount
contents and total acidity were evaluated based on
standard methodologies (AOAC 1995). Cellulose,
hemicellulose and lignin contents were determined Table 1 Chemical composition of coffee husks (% dry basis)
by crude fiber analysis (Van Soest and Wine 1967). Coffee husks Sticky coffee husks
Ethanol concentration was determined by UV–Vis
Protein 8–11 9–10
spectrometry (Cole Parmer, model 1100RS) (ABNT
1997). Lipids 0.5–3 0.7–1.2
Minerals 3–7 5–6
Fermentation studies Total carbohydrates 58–85 83–85
Cellulose 43 16–25
Batch experiments of fermentation were performed Hemicellulose 7 9–11
using 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks agitated on a shaker Lignin 9 6–10
at 100 rpm for pre-determined time values. Approx- Caffeine *1 0.6
imately 13 g of substrate were mixed with 100 ml Tannins *5 0.8–1.2
distilled water. Fermentation time was determined Compilation of literature data presented by Franca and Oliveira
based on CO2 release data. Yeast concentration was (2009)

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Table 2 Sugar contents of coffee husks (% dry basis)
Coffee husks Reducing *12 Adams and
sugars Dougan (1987)
Total *14
sugars
Sucrose *2
Sticky coffee Reducing 24.25 ± 0.53*
husks sugars
Total 28.70 ± 0.91* This study
sugars
Sucrose 4.23 ± 0.51*
* Average ± SD
encountered in regular coffee husks, thus encourag-
ing fermentation research studies employing this type
of residue.
Fermentation
Yeast cell viability after fermentation should be in the
range of 80–90%. Smaller values are indicative
that fermentation occurred in acid media or at high
temperatures, whereas higher values could indicate a
possible decrease in yeast growth. In all experiments
cell viability was in the range of 78–87%, indicat-
ing normal fermentation conditions. Total acidity is
employed to monitor if other types of fermentation
occur, for example, production of lactic acid. Thus,
its value should increase at most 2.5 times during
fermentation in normal conditions. The results
obtained confirm that fermentation occurred nor-
mally, given that acidity increase was in the range of
40–80%, with a slight decrease in pH values being
observed. Fermentation time was determined based
on CO2 release data and did not vary with the type
of fermentation substrate, i.e., whole husks and
aqueous extract. It was observed that fermentation
time decreased with an increase in yeast concentra-
tion, as expected (Mojovié et al. 2006). However, no
significant variations in CO2 release were observed
(*2.1 g/100 ml).
Fermentation results are displayed in Table 3.
There were no significant differences in fermentation
results employing whole and ground coffee husks.
Thus, subsequent tests were performed only with
whole husks, given that two processing steps, grind-
ing and sieving, are eliminated without affecting
fermentation performance. It can also be observed
that ethanol production was less efficient employing
the aqueous extract. This is attributed to the presence
of some inhibitory substance that might have been
released during the aqueous extraction. Fermentation
parameters are within literature ranges for fermenta-
tion of agricultural residues (Belkacemi et al. 2002;
Mojovié et al. 2006; Ohgrem et al. 2007).
Fermentation results for varying yeast concentra-
tion and temperature are displayed in Table 4. A
decrease in yield can be observed with an increase in
yeast concentration. Also, a temperature of 30°C
provided the best fermentation conditions. A com-
parison of ethanol production with literature data for
other residues is displayed in Table 5. It can be
observed that production of ethanol by fermentation
of sticky coffee husks was quite satisfactory in
comparison to literature data for other residues, given
all residues that provided higher ethanol production
were either supplemented with sugar or underwent
hydrolysis/saccharification. Futhermore, there are
many possibilities for improving ethanol production
based on this type of residue, including the addition
of pre-treatment steps (acid and/or enzymatic sacchar-
ification), use of other microorganisms, simultaneous
saccharification and fermentation, and others.
The results obtained in the present study show that
coffee husks present an excellent potential for residue-
based ethanol production. Furthermore, coffee pro-
duction residues can be analyzed under the concept of
a bio-refinery, in order to devise a more proper way of

Table 3 Fermentation results employing 4 g/l yeast at 30°C

Results Whole coffee husks Ground coffee husks Aqueous extract

Ethanol production (g/100 g d.b.) 7.67 ± 0.15a 7.19 ± 0.52a 6.43 ± 0.20b
a a
Theoretical yield (%) 67.47 ± 1.39 62.78 ± 4.56 48.07 ± 0.96b
a a
Sugar conversion (%) 92.10 ± 0.40 92.67 ± 0.52 91.43 ± 0.38b
a a
Productivity (g/l h) 1.22 ± 0.02 1.15 ± 0.08 1.03 ± 0.03b
Average ± SD, Values followed by the same letter in the same line do not differ significantly at 5% probability

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Table 4 Fermentation results: effect of varying yeast concentration and fermentation temperature
Results Yeast concentration
3 g/l 4 g/l 5 g/l

Ethanol production (g/100 g d.b.) 8.49 ± 0.29a 7.68 ± 0.16b 7.58 ± 0.11b
a b
Theoretical yield (%) 75.04 ± 2.60 67.47 ± 1.39 67.36 ± 0.96b
a a
Sugar conversion (%) 91.64 92.1 91.11a
Productivity (g/l h) 1.23 ± 0.04b 1.22 ± 0.02b 1.34 ± 0.02a
Temperature
25°C 30°C 35°C

Ethanol production (g/100 g d.b.) 7.23 ± 0.06c 8.49 ± 0.29a 7.73 ± 0.12b
b a
Theoretical yield (%) 68.49 ± 0.57 75.04 ± 2.60 69.19 ± 1.12b
c a
Sugar conversion (%) 85.47 91.64 90.41b
c a
Productivity (g/l h) 1.05 ± 0.01 1.23 ± 0.04 1.12 ± 0.02b
Average ± SD, Values followed by the same letter in the same line do not differ significantly at 5% probability, d.b. represents dry
basis

Table 5 Comparison of literature data on residue-based ethanol production

Residue Ethanol Percentage Percentage Productivity Reference
production of theoretical of sugar (g/l h)
(g/l) yield conversion

Whey liquid waste – – 80 0.3 Athanasiadis et al. (2002)

Corn meal* – – 1.2 Mojovié et al. (2006)
Corn stalks* 5 84–90 93 1.3 Belkacemi et al. (2002)
Barley straw* 10 – 1.3 Belkacemi et al. (2002)
Wheat stillage** 11 – – Davis et al. (2005)
Sticky coffee husks 13.6 ± 0.5 75 92 1.2 This study
Sweet sorghum bagasse* 16.2 61 – Ballesteros et al. (2004)
Corn stover* 16.8 – – Ohgrem et al. (2007)
Wheat straw* 18.1 62 – Ballesteros et al. (2004)
Kitchen waste* 30 92 24 Tang et al. (2008)
* Underwent hydrolysis/saccharification, ** glucose supplemented

addressing the issue of adequate waste disposal and
recovery. Even with the few currently available
proposals for alternative uses of coffee husks, one
can envision a sequence of processing steps that could
lead to a real application of the bio-refinery concept.
One example would be to produce ethanol from coffee
husks and further use the generated residue (fermented
solid) to produce adsorbents for a diversity of appli-
cations, with the removal of organic compounds from
the water used in the processing of coffee (e.g., in
pulping) being an attractive alternative. The organic-
loaded adsorbent could then be burned as a solid fuel to
produce the necessary energy for the artificial drying
of coffee beans. The produced ethanol, together with
oil extracted from low quality (defective) coffee beans,
could be employed as reactants for biodiesel pro-
duction. Community-scale bio-refineries could then
reduce the costs of coffee production by turning the
coffee solid residues into products that can be used by
the producers in the several processing steps of coffee,
e.g., fuel for the machinery used in harvesting and
handling, adsorbents for the treatment of coffee
processing wastewater and solid fuel for artificial
dryers of coffee beans.

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Biotechnol Lett
Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge financial
support from the following Brazilian Government Agencies:
CAPES, CNPq and FAPEMIG.
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