According to foreign media new atlas, we have heard more and more news about environmentally friendly biodegradable plastics, which are made of cellulose nanofibers. Although these fibers are usually obtained from wood waste, new research shows that they can also be obtained from a large number of waste coffee grounds. Cellulose is the most abundant organic compound on the earth. Elsewhere, it's in the cell walls of plants - which make their leaves and stems so strong.
Coffee grounds are not completely lacking either. According to the international coffee organization, more than 6 million tons of coffee grounds are produced every year in the world. Some of them are composted, while others may one day be used for materials such as carbon capture materials, biofuels or road materials. However, at least for now, most of the coffee grounds will eventually be discarded in landfills.
Scientists at Yokohama National University, led by izuru Kawamura, an associate professor, decided to study whether the waste coffee grounds could be used as a source of cellulose nanofibers. Coffee grounds certainly show promise, because about half of their weight and volume are made of cellulose.
The researchers used a previously developed process called catalytic oxidation to oxidize the cell walls of coffee beans. After analyzing the cellulose nanofibers, we found that they have ideal uniform structure. They also work well with polyvinyl alcohol, a polymer used to make biodegradable plastics - scientists have ideas for the first coffee plastics in the future.
"Now, more and more restaurants and cafes have banned the use of disposable straws," izuru Kawamura said. "After this campaign, our goal is to make transparent treated coffee cups and straws with an additive consisting of cellulose nanofibers from waste coffee grounds. "
Recently, a paper on the study was published in the journal cellulose.
