Coffee can absorb toxic fumes
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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The first morning cup of coffee - what could be more wonderful! But did you know that the thick ground left from the ground coffee in the coffee machine can bring a lot of benefits? With the right treatment, it can eliminate one of the worst odors in the world - the smell of sewage vapors.
The process of obtaining a carbon filter capable of delaying hydrogen sulphide. The structure of the caffeine molecule is shown in the center. (Picture of City University of New York.)
Searching for environmentally friendly substances that can absorb toxic fumes, scientists from the City University of New York (USA) have discovered that the material obtained by deep thermolysis of the coffee grounds can absorb hydrogen sulphide, a toxin that bestows sewage vapors with their marvelous aroma.
Generally, the production of carbon adsorbents to purify air from hydrogen sulphide (acid) requires treating the coal mass with nitrogen bases, such as ammonia or melamine (to incorporate active "basic" nitrogen). In any case, this procedure is not too eco-friendly and dramatically increases the price of the final product.
At the same time, the remains of coffee seeds are already "charged" with a substance rich in nitrogen - caffeine. Under conditions of thermolysis of the organic mass, caffeine gives the carbon structure that is formed the ability to remove sulfuric gases from the air.
The process of preparing a coal filter from the remains of ground coffee looks like this: the coffee grounds are mixed with water and a small amount of zinc chloride (a chemical activator) and heated to 800 ° C. This produces a coal mass consisting of coal particles with pores from 10 to 30 Å in diameter, full of active nitrogen and perfectly suited to capture nearby molecules of hydrogen sulfide.
That's right, and coffee to drink, and the coffee grounds in the case put: waste processing and the production of a filter for cleaning from toxins in one bottle. Elegant and cheap.