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Scientists discover an innovative way to use coffee grounds

2026-04-27 07:40:00, Kuriozitete CNA

Scientists discover an innovative way to use coffee grounds

A team of scientists in South Korea has discovered an innovative way to reuse coffee grounds, turning them into insulating material for buildings.

Researchers from Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) have managed to create a material that performs as well as traditional insulators, but with a much lower impact on the environment.

According to researchers, coffee grounds – which usually end up in landfills or incinerated – can be processed into a sustainable and biodegradable material.

Considering that around 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day, the potential for recycling this material is huge.

The process involves drying coffee grounds, converting them into biochar, and then mixing them with a natural polymer to create a porous material. These pores trap air, making the material very effective at insulating.

Laboratory tests showed that the new material has a very low thermal conductivity, around 0.04 watts per meter per Kelvin, putting it on par with the best current insulating materials, such as expanded polystyrene.

Unlike polystyrene, which is produced from fossil fuels and is difficult to dispose of, the new material is environmentally friendly and biodegrades relatively quickly. In tests, it lost over 10 percent of its weight within three weeks, while polystyrene remained almost unchanged.

The researchers suggest that this material could be used, especially in buildings with solar panels, to reduce heat that penetrates the interior. According to them, this solution not only improves energy efficiency, but also contributes to reducing waste and building a more sustainable economy./ CNA





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