Environmental and Yield Comparison of Quick Extraction Methods for Caffeine and Chlorogenic Acid from Spent Coffee Grounds

• Published in: Foods Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 779
• Main Authors: Bouhzam, Ibtissam, Cantero, Rosa, Balcells, Mercè, Margallo, María, Aldaco, Rubén, Bala, Alba, Fullana-I-Palmer, Pere, Puig, Rita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Caffeine; Chemical properties; Chlorogenic acid; Coffee; Environmental assessment; Ethanol; Food research; Food science; Food waste; Food wastes; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Life cycles; Literature reviews; Methods; Production methods; Room temperature; Solvent extraction processes; Solvents; spent coffee grounds circularity; supra solvents method; Ultrasound; water extraction; Spain; water extraction; supra solvents method; life cycle assessment; spent coffee grounds circularity
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods12040779

This study aims to provide an overview of different extraction methods to obtain chlorogenic acid (CA) and caffeine (Caf) from spent coffee grounds (SCG). This overview shows that the quantity extracted is highly dependent on the type of SCG, so experiments using the same SCG are needed to compare different methods. Three easy and simple extraction methods will be tested at a laboratory scale and environmentally compared. All three experiments were of 1 min duration: first, using supramolecular solvent; second, with water and vortex; and third, with water assisted by ultrasound. Water extraction assisted by ultrasound at room temperature yielded the greatest quantity of chlorogenic acid and caffeine, with 1.15 mg CA/g and 0.972 mg Caf/g, respectively. Extraction using supra-solvent leads to a lower content of CA in the supra-phase since it has more affinity for the water-based inferior phase. An environmental assessment using life cycle assessment has been carried out to compare water and supra extraction methods for the manufacture of two different commercial products: a face cream and an eye contour serum. Results show that the type of solvent and the amount of active substance extracted have a great influence on the environmental results. The results presented here are important for companies willing to obtain these active substances at an industrial scale.