Coffee powder reused as a composite material

Abstract

With the technological and industrial development, many products have toxicity problems and the rate of using new raw materials is unsustainable. The markets have been undergoing changes and manufacturing materials tend to be affordable, but they still have problems related with pollution and ecological concerns. It is even known the impact that the hunger for consumption, that mankind shows, has in nature and that conducts to a slow end of natural resources. For this reason, alternatives pass through the reuse of waste. This theme has emerged as a way to combat this problem of great environmental impact through design. This research aims to present a production method for reuse ground coffee leftovers. Because at the moment it is treated mostly as junk, obtaining it does not entail any costs, and may therefore be an innovative material for the production of various objects. From the point of view of sustainability the idea is to extend the life cycle of coffee, eliminating the waste phase after consumption, to which is nowadays assumed as the normal procedure. This work has been carried out within the structure of the Masters Degree in Product and Industrial Design (MDIP), at the Faculties of Engineering (FEUP) and of Fine Arts (FBAUP) from the University of Porto. The main goal to be achieved with this research is to obtain a mouldable material, formed by the coffee grounds and a suitable binder found through testing and research. It is also intended that the material created is durable and washable, with prospects of extending the realities in which it can be used. The second objective will be the development of a tool for the production of this material, not only by moulding, but eventually by 3D printing. To validate these goals it is intended the development of a set of products with the studied technologies. In this article are presented the results of laboratory experiences as well as some design solutions that were achieved.