In order to reduce the negative impact on the environment, a group of researchers and students from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) intend to use coffee crops to create a fuel to produce electricity.
The initiative is in charge of the School of Chemical Engineering of the UCR, whose students worked for two years in the search for an alternative that would reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases produced by traditional management of coffee brush.
According to Cindy Torres, engineer and general coordinator of the project, after an arduous investigation they were able to determine that it is possible to obtain electricity by gasification of the brush, as long as the appropriate process is carried out.
These positive results open the opportunity for the coffee sector to treat a residue that has been historically problematic, not only for the reduction of greenhouse gases but also as an issue of environmental management,”
said Torres.
This proposal was developed under an initiative called NAMA-Café, in which the UCR and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE), Fundecooperación and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG).
For Roberto Azofeifa, head of the Department of Sustainable Production of MAG, this type of initiatives bring multiple benefits for the country in environmental matters.
Today we analyze coffee, but we have not given enough attention to waste management in products such as pineapple, so the link between public and private institutions and the academy is fundamental to have a much more efficient development in our agricultural sector”
explained Azofeifa.
The information from this project, should be valued by small, medium or large coffee growers, who will be responsible for determining whether or not to implement these practices.