Use of Cellulosic Esters Derived from Coffee Ground Wastes as Sorbent Material for the Purification of Produced Water from Kuwaiti Oil Extraction Operations

Abstract

Abstract It has been noted that worldwide at least 6 million tons of spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are generated annually. This is why a novel means of purifying produced water (PW) from oil production processes in Kuwait using biomass derived from spent coffee grounds (SCGs) as a final step is under investigation. Cellulosic material gained from CGs is functionalized by esterification utilizing acetyl (C2) octanoyl (C8) or palmitoyl chloride (C16). The esterification is carried out to further augment the hydrophobicity of the torrefied, extracted SCG-cellulose to allow for the adsorption of oil and other lipophilic contaminants from the PW. Sorption properties of the thus derived cellulosic esters in combination with activated carbons are reported.