Researchers from the West Pomeranian University of Technology (ZUT) in Szczecin have patented a way to manage coffee roasting husks. The researchers have developed an eco-friendly fire starter created from the waste produced after roasting the beans, a process necessary to produce a beverage with the right aroma and flavour.
The ZUT researchers used coffee husks – an extremely fine, light and oily waste – added a binder – stearin and/or paraffin and/or soy wax and/or palm wax and/or beeswax – and pressed the whole thing at an elevated temperature. The addition of the binder improved the hydrophobic properties and flammability of the fire starter. The result is wafers that, when cut, can be used as firelighters, e.g. for barbecues or fireplaces.
The solution is already protected by a patent. The ZUT Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer will now look for opportunities to commercialise the invention”.
