ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

As a professional engineer, the impact of the waste products produced during

the whole process on the environment will be one of our main concerns as it
might cause a lot of irreversible consequences. In 2014, the amount of coffee
consumed worldwide recorded a value of 8 million tons and 6 million tons of
coffee waste per annum. If the coffee wastes are not treated properly before
disposal, it might be detrimental to both living organisms and environment. For
instance, the continuous release of toxic solid residues containing heavy metals
will be carcinogenic to the living organisms. Besides that, the disposal of fatty
acids will lead to changed rate of production and survival of living creatures.

We must always ensure that the waste produced meet the requirements of the
effluent standards set by the government. According to the Malaysia
Environmental Quality Act 1974, there are two most important parameters we
need to follow which are the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Suspended
Solids (SS). Biochemical Oxygen Demand is defined as a measurement of the
volume of oxygen consumed by the sewage over a given time. High value of
BOD means that when the sewage is disposed into the river, it might consume
all the oxygen available and kills all the aquatic life within the river. On the other
hand, the suspended solids are defined as a measurement of insoluble material
in the sewage. High value of SS will cause a deposit of sludge in the waterways
and therefore leads to environmental deterioration.

There are three main types of waste produced in our instant coffee plant which
are solid wastes, waste water and air pollutants. Practicing the 3Rs concept
(reduce, reuse, recycle) will bring a positive effect on environment protection.
We can reduce the amount of waste produced when all the usage of by products
have been identified. For example, the spent coffee ground produced during the
manufacturing of instant coffee can also be used as a medium for growing of
mushroom. Apart from that, the spent coffee grounds can also undergo a
composting and vermicomposting process to increase concentration of
substances such as nitrogen and carbon which will be very helpful to plantation
hence producing a nutrient-rich fertilizer.

The silver skin of the coffee cherry which is one of the wastes produced can
undergo the solid-liquid extraction to obtain phenolic extraction. The pulp and
husk of coffee cherry also can undergo the same process to obtain fineness
bioactive extract such as dietary fibre. The husk of coffee cherry can undergo a
bioremediation process to extract useful substances such as enzyme and organic
acids from it. An alternative way for dealing with the husk and pulp is by
combusting them to produce biogas as these two wastages contain a high
carbohydrate content. Biogas also obtainable by combusting the spent coffee
grounds since it has a high calorific power.
The waste water produced is another main concern when we are dealing with
environmental issues. It is estimated that our plant will produce a 50,000 gallons
of waste water per day. A set of water filter and water treatment system should
be installed in our plant to filter out the impurities such as suspended organic
material. Dilution of waste water is also one of ways to reduce the concentration
of undesired components within the waste water. A strict inspection must be
performed after waste water undergo the treatment before it is recycled or
dispose of. The water treatment system should be check at a regular basis to
prevent leakage waste water which will cause pollution to the environment.

Apart from waste water treatment, air pollutants produced during the roasting of
coffee beans and the freeze-drying process will also cause a harmful effect to
environment and the residents nearby. One of the easiest way to deal with air
pollutants is to convert those air pollutants into waste water. The air pollutants
can be easily handled when it is converted to liquid form instead of gaseous
form. It is also cost effective since we can use the water treatment system in our
plant rather than installing another air pollutants treatment system. Another
advantage of converting the air pollutants into liquid form is that they are
biodegradable and therefore we will not worry about the contamination of these
pollutants to the environment.

The main purpose for us to tackle all these problems is to reduce the amount of
pollutants and wastages of useful by-products. Environmental issues are one of
the three main concerns of a chemical engineer; therefore, we must always
ensure that every process we designed will not be harmful to the environment.
Moreover, once we fully utilize all the by-products produced during the
manufacturing process, we can increase the revenue of our plant and hence
improve our plant from time to time to further increase the production amount
per annum. This will be a very huge advantage when we are standing on an
economical view. As a conclusion, we must take up the responsibility to protect
and reduce the damages to the environment in every single chemical process as
a professional chemical engineer.
https://www.iwk.com.my/do-you-know/effluent-standards