Scientists from the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin have used coffee chaff to create firelighter for barbecues and fireplaces.
Chaff is an extremely delicate, light and oily waste. According to the university website, scientists were asked to find use for it by one of the Szczecin coffee roasteries.
The team led by the university’s Professor Katarzyna Wilpiszewska added a binder to chaff (stearin and/or paraffin and/or soy wax and/or palm wax and/or beeswax) and pressed the resulting mixture at an elevated temperature.
'The addition of a binder improved the hydrophobic properties and flammability of the firelighter. Thanks to this, the researchers have obtained tiles that, after cutting, can be used as a firelighter, e.g. for barbecues and fireplaces,’ the university reports.
The months-long research ended in the first half of 2021. In addition to Professor Katarzyna Wilpiszewska, Dorota Skowrońska and Professor Krzysztof Kowalczyk from the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering also worked on the solution.
According to the university, the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland awarded a patent for this invention. The Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer of the West Pomeranian University of Technology will now look for opportunities for its commercialisation. (PAP)
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