Publication detail

Utilisation of spent coffee grounds into lactic acid

HUDEČKOVÁ, H. NEUREITER, M. OBRUČA, S. FRUHAUF, S. MÁROVÁ, I.

Original Title

Type

abstract

Language

English

Original Abstract

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) represent solid waste generated by coffee processing industries. Their disposal represents a serious environmental problem; however, SCG can be valorised within a biorefinery concept yielding various valuable products. This work investigates the potential conversion of SCG into lactic acid (LA). It is organic acid usually used in food and pharmaceutical industries. It has also great potential as monomer for producing the biodegradable plastics. Polylactic acid (PLA) is suitable alternative to traditional plastics. Its large-scale application is limited by high price of lactic acid production. However, high price of production could be reduced by optimization of fermentation and searching of cheaper raw materials. SCG were hydrolysed by combination of dilute acid treatment and subsequent application of cellulase. The SCG hydrolysate contained a considerable amount of reducing sugars (9.02 ± 0.03 g/L glucose; 26.49 ± 0.10 galactose and 2.81 ± 0.07 arabinose) and it was used for cultivation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, CCM 1825. Despite the inhibitory effect exerted by furfural and phenolic compounds in the medium, reasonably high lactic acid concentrations (25.69 ± 1.45 g/L) and yields (98 %) were gained. Therefore, it could be demonstrated that SCG is a promising raw material for the production of lactic acid and could serve as a feedstock for the sustainable large-scale production of lactic acid. The results were published in the journal Letters in Applied Microbiology.

Keywords

Lactic acid, coffee spent grounds, biotechnology

Authors

HUDEČKOVÁ, H.; NEUREITER, M.; OBRUČA, S.; FRUHAUF, S.; MÁROVÁ, I.

Released

16. 4. 2018

BibTex

@misc{BUT147622,
  author="HUDEČKOVÁ, H. and NEUREITER, M. and OBRUČA, S. and FRUHAUF, S. and MÁROVÁ, I.",
  title="Utilisation of spent coffee grounds into lactic acid",
  year="2018",
  note="abstract"
}