PRODUÇÃO DE BIODIESEL E CARVÃO ATIVADO A PARTIR DA BORRA DE CAFÉ

The research seeks a new sustainable use for the compounds that would be discarded incorrectly. Due to the chemical characteristics of coffee grounds making possible a transformation of the grounds into biodiesel, the research focused on effective and sustainable ways to accomplish this, with the highest possible utilization of the compounds. For this, the extraction of coffee oil present in the grounds was carried out by means of a reflux distillation, with the use of a Soxhlet extractor. Subsequently, a transesterification reaction of this oil obtained from the coffee was performed with the intention of converting it into biodiesel. In addition, from the remainder of the coffee grounds left from the biodiesel extraction, activated carbon was obtained through carbonization, followed by activation. The results proved satisfactory and open perspective to propose solutions to various environmental and social problems, among them the development of a renewable energy method, so that fossil energies are replaced by more effective and sustainable methods, through compounds that would be incorrectly discarded. Besides using the activated carbon to solve other problems, such as water purification in environments that do not have basic sanitation.