Composting and co-composting of coffee husk and pulp with source-separated municipal solid waste: a breakthrough in valorization of coffee waste

• Published in: International journal of recycling of organic waste in agriculture Vol. 8; no. 3; pp. 263 - 277
• Main Authors: Dadi, D., Daba, G., Beyene, A., Luis, P., Van der Bruggen, B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-09-2019; Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Brassica; Brassica oleracea; Byproducts; Coffee; Composting; Composts; Crop yield; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Field tests; Germination; Municipal solid waste; Municipal waste management; Original Research; Pulp; Seed germination; Solid waste management; Solid wastes; Waste management industry; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Weight; Productivity; Coffee husk; Compost quality; Co-composting; Valorization; Maturity
• ISSN: 2195-3228; 2251-7715
• DOI: 10.1007/s40093-019-0256-8

Purpose
In this study, the composting and co-composting potential of coffee husk and pulp with source-separated municipal solid waste (SSMSW) was investigated.
Methods
Coffee husk and pulp were mixed independently with SSMSW in different proportions (0, 33, 50 and 100%), and composted in triplicates with a total of 24 composting piles for 3 months. From each compost type, different physicochemical parameters were analyzed. In addition, the seed germination, growth and fresh head weight yield of each compost type were investigated on each matured compost type using cabbage seed (
Brassica oleracea
).
Results
The results indicate that the two coffee by-products can be composted alone or co-composted with SSMSW yielding very mature and stable compost. The results indicated that the addition of 1/4th of local soil (wt/wt) on C8 compost type yields the optimum fresh head weight of the cabbage among all field experiments. In addition, when C8 compost type is mixed with local soil in 3:1 ratio, it could yield an optimum fresh head weight of the cabbage (572 ± 10 g/kg of compost). This could be due to the relatively higher concentration of total nitrogen in the C8 compost sample.
Conclusions
Generally, the final compost can be served for unrestricted type of agricultural purposes. Thus, co-composing of coffee husk and pulp with SSMSW can alleviate the multidimensional problems of rural and urban dwellers.