Non-Wood paper from coffee pulp Waste: How its performance as coffee filter

Abstract

Coffee pulp waste was having potential to be used as a source of non-wood cellulose for papermaking because of its abundance, considerable fraction of cellulose content, and low economic value. In this study, the isolated cellulosic fiber from coffee pulp waste was prepared into paper with the specific purpose of filter for coffee, with the aim as an effort to develop economic value and potential alternative utilization to reduce the environmental impact of coffee pulp waste accumulation, besides suggesting alternative non-wood cellulose source for coffee filter paper. The effect of extraction process repetition using 3 % (w/w) sodium hydroxide was studied to evaluate its effectiveness in removing the non-cellulosic content of coffee pulp, especially lignin, which could damage the taste of coffee. The physical and mechanical properties and water flow ability of coffee pulp filter paper (CPFP) were conducted to evaluate its characteristics and performance. The result showed that three times repetitions of alkali treatment to coffee pulp produced similar lignocellulosic content quality to the commercial wood-based coffee filter paper, with cellulose fraction reaching 86.67 % and residual lignin around 5.39 %. The coffee pulp-based filter paper made from three times repetition of alkali-treated coffee pulp has comparable tensile strength and excellent folding resistance compared to commercial filter paper, which reached around 526 ± 198.4 N/m and 1 df, respectively. The coffee pulp-based filter paper also demonstrated could withstand discharged through by boiling water without breaking. According to the resulting performance of CPFP, coffee pulp waste is promising to be further developed as an alternative non-wood resource for coffee filter paper manufacturing.

Keywords

• Cellulose
• Coffee pulp
• Coffee filter paper
• Repeated alkali treatment