Coffee dregs could reduce the levels of heavy metals in water

The residual waste of coffee that is often discarded because it is considered useless. However, through the study of five students of the Faculty of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, University of Jember, namely Puput Baryatik, Uswatun Asihta, Wita Nurcahyaningsih, Azzumrotul Baroroh, and Herdian Riskianto, the coffee waste became useful materials to absorb toxins in the water, especially the heavy metal cadmium (Cd) which can lead to many diseases in the community.

Test activated charcoal of coffee dregs to water wells contaminated heavy metals. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cPdcs)

According to Anita Dewi Moelyaningrum, a lecturer at the Faculty of Public Health, University of Jember said that the industrial and household waste are not managed properly, often the cause of environmental pollution, especially ground water. There three of heavy metals, ie lead, mercury and cadmium, commonly found in ground water or wells contaminated of heavy metals due to industrial and household waste.

"Waste is collected by community or waste that goes into landfills without separation between organic and inorganic, so the battery waste, plastic waste, as well as medical waste sometimes comes in to the landfill, and also the waste of pesticides packaging sometimes still mixed in one location at the landfill. Then the rain comes, with the help of natural processes as well, then a wide range of heavy metals can come out, flow through the ground water then go into the well," she said further.

Five students of University of Jember researching coffee dregs could reduce levels of heavy metals in water. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1cPdcs)

Utilization of the residual waste of coffee that many discarded by the coffee lovers in Jember becoming a research subject of University of Jember students to find the model-based environmental management of organic waste.

Puput Baryatik, one of the students who conducted the research, said the results of processing the residual waste of coffee proven to reduce levels of cadmium in water polluted with heavy metals by more than 50 percent.

"Jember itself is one of the biggest centers of cultivation of robusta coffee in East Java. The result showed the decreasing of cadmium level was 55.75 percent with the concentrations of active charcoal of coffee dregs was 10 grams per liter," said Puput Baryatik, the chairman of the student researcher.

Anita Dewi added, the absorption of coffee dregs can be more optimally after converted into an activated charcoal form.

"To get more optimal absorption rate, then converted to the form of elemental carbon, so charred then activated with HCl, then neutralized again and then exposed to water contamined by cadmium heavy metal," explains Anita Dewi Moelyaningrum.

Puput hopes the results of research done by the students of University of Jember can help people, especially those living around the landfills and the area where the water is polluted, in order to utilize the residual waste of coffee to improve the quality of ground water in their neighborhood. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | VOA NEWS]

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