C H A P T E R
34
Spent Coffee-Based Activated Carbons:
Production, Properties, and Environmental
Applications
Teresa J. Bandosz, Karifala Kante
Department of Chemistry, The City College of New York, New York, NY, USA
34.1 INTRODUCTION
Contemporary society faces ongoing problems of
keeping the environment clean, sustainable, and safe
for inhabitants. Nowadays, many pollutants and con-
taminants have to be removed either from the gas or
liquid phase.1 Examples include the treatment of drink-
ing water, desulfurization of stock gases, removal of
mercury from power plant exhausts, desulfurization of
liquid fuels, CO2 sequestration, or purification of vari-
ous food and pharmaceutical products. Another need
for good separation media is in the recovery of useful
products. Here, examples include the separation of air
components, methane from digester gas, or ethane from
ethylene.
The “classic” materials used often as separation media
are charcoals and activated carbons.2,3 There is even
some proof of charcoal usage in ancient China. Its mod-
ern application as an adsorbent started at the beginning
of the twentieth century when an activation method was
patented and used in Ratibor (now Raciborz, Poland;
SGL Carbon plant).4 Today, there are various technolo-
gies used to produce activated carbons.2,3 The adsorbents
can be manufactured by activation of chars obtained by
high-temperature pyrolysis of precursors with a high
content of carbon element, including coal, wood, pitch,
and various waste biomasses such as coconut shells, rice
husks, stone pits, and many others. Activation involves
treatment of char at temperatures over 800 °C in CO2 or
steam. It leads the development of porosity as a result
of burn-off. Another group of methods leading to the
production of activated carbon is called chemical acti-
vation. Here, the precursors are mixed with chemical
Coffee in Health and Disease Prevention
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409517-5.00034-6 © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
agents promoting dehydration, condensation of aro-
matic rings, and development of porosity. The most
often-used chemical activation agents are phosphoric
acid, potassium hydroxide, and zinc chloride.
Typical activated carbons have surface areas of
approximately 1000 m2/g and pore volume over
1 cm3/g.2,3 They are considered to be microporous adsor-
bents, which means that the majority of their pore vol-
ume is in the range of micropores—pores smaller than
2 nm in diameter. The needs of sophisticated contem-
porary separation processes led to the development of
carbon with much higher surface area, over 2000 m2/g,
and volume of pores reaching 3 cm3/g. They are usually
synthesized using sol–gel processes or templating meth-
ods, but addressing these materials is beyond the scope
of this chapter.
The superior adsorption properties of activated car-
bons are linked to their high surface areas and pore vol-
umes.5 Due to the strong dispersive forces in their pore
system, carbons can accumulate various molecules on
their surface. Unfortunately, often the physical adsorp-
tion process on activated carbons is not specific enough
for certain separation applications, especially when there
is a need to remove polar compounds. In such cases,
the surface of carbon has to be modified to increase the
strength of specific interactions.6 This is usually done by
impregnation with various chemicals of choice (e.g., salts,
bases, acids) or by introduction of heteroatoms to the car-
bon matrix. The most often introduced heteroatoms are
oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and boron. They
exist on the surface of carbons in the form of organic
functional groups, which change the polarity, acid-base,
and electronic properties of the carbon matrix and thus
311
312 34.  SPENT COFFEE-BASED ACTIVATED CARBONS
improve the adsorption efficiency toward target species.
Besides applications in separation processes, there is also
a need for specialty carbons. They are used as electrodes
for supercapacitors to store electrical energy,7 as anodes
for lithium batteries,8 and as catalysts or catalyst sup-
ports in various industrial processes.6
In this review, the production, properties, and appli-
cations of activated carbons obtained from coffee waste
are addressed. This particular biomass is a byproduct of
coffee consumption. It is readily available in large quan-
tities and in a form that is easy to use in the production
of carbon. Its important asset is the presence of nitrogen
compounds (caffeine, amino acids), which can enrich the
surface properties of the final products by increasing the
surface basicity and polarity,6 as well as inducing posi-
tive charge on the carbon atoms.9,10
34.2  PREPARATION OF COFFEE-BASED
ACTIVATED CARBONS AND THEIR
SURFACE FEATURES
Physical activation is the most common method of
activated carbon production.2,3 Valante Nabais and
coworkers used this approach to prepare activated car-
bon from coffee endocarp.11 The endocarp is a lignocel-
lulosic residue that is discarded after separation of coffee
beans from coffee fruit. Because it is directly related to
the coffee beans, we address it as a source of carbon in
this review. The precursor was carbonized at 600 °C for
30, 60, or 120 min and then activation (with steam or CO2)
was carried out at 700 °C. The surface area of the final
CO2-activated carbon ranged from 400 to 1300 m2/g, and
that activated by steam reached 630 m2/g. The carbon
had a basic pH (over 10) and ash content up to 23%, with
Na, K, Mg, and Si as its major components. The surface
chemistry for all samples was similar regardless of the
activation method. The typical oxygen groups that are
characteristic for activated carbons (carboxyl, carbonyls,
phenolic, pyrones)6 were identified on the surface.
Chemical activation was used by Evans and coworkers
to prepare activated carbon from used coffee grounds.12
First, the precursor was carbonized at 750 °C in an inert
atmosphere, and then it was chemically activated with
KOH. The ratio of char to solid KOH was 1:4. The acti-
vation temperatures ranged from 400 to 950 °C, with hold
time between 1 and 4 h. After activation, the samples were
washed with methanol to remove an excess of the activa-
tion agent. Chemical activation of coffee ground-derived
char at 800 °C resulted in a carbon with the surface area
reaching 2030 m2/g, with approximately 65% yield of the
final products. It was concluded that the porous properties
of the coffee-derived carbons were similar to those of acti-
vated carbons obtained from other cellulose-containing
precursors, such as macadamia nut shells. Interestingly,
I.  INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL TEXT
FIGURE 34.1  Schematic presentation for the preparation of acti-
vated carbon from coffee residue. Reprinted with permission from Ref. 13.
Copyright Elsevier, 2010.
the polyvinylidene chloride– and polyvinyl chloride–
derived carbons also exhibited surface properties similar
to those of the spent coffee-derived carbons.
Besides activation with potassium hydroxide, zinc
chloride was also used as a chemical activation agent to
prepare coffee-derived carbons.13–17 The carbon prepara-
tion setup used by Khenniche and Aissani13 is presented in
Figure 34.1. Their ratios of the precursor to the activation
agent were 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1. The surface area of the
resulting carbon increased with an increase in the amount
of an activation agent and reached 810 m2/g for 1:1 ratio
(Table 34.1). The carbons were predominantly micropo-
rous adsorbents; however, an increase in the coffee/ZnCl2
ratio resulted in the development of mesoporosity. An
increase in that ratio also led to a decrease in the amount
of basic groups on the surface, as determined from the
Boehm titration method,18 with the acidic groups remain-
ing on more or less constant level of about 3.5 mmol/g.
Zinc chloride was also used as the activation agent by
Rufford and co-workers.14,15 In their approach, the ratios of
ZnCl2 to spent coffee were 1, 3.5, and 5. The materials were
carbonized at 900 °C for 1 h and then washed with HCl to
remove a residue of the activation agent. Even though the
surface areas and volumes of micropores did not show
any dependence on the activation conditions (∼1000 m2/g
for all samples), the volume of mesopores increased from
0.14 cm3/g for ZnCl2:coffee ratio of 1 to 0.95 cm2/g for
ratio 5 (Table 34.1). That increase was attributed to the
pore-­ widening effect. The surface chemistry of the car-
bon obtained with 1:1 activation ratio was investigated.15
X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed
that the carbon contained 6.8 at% oxygen and 1.5 at%
nitrogen. Although the oxygen was in phenols/ether
(58.8%), ­chemisorbed O2 (21.5%), and carbonyl-quinone
(19.7%) configurations, the majority of nitrogen was in
­pyridinic form (35.9%). Other species, such as ­quaternary
nitrogen, pyrrolic/pyridone, and pyridine-N-oxide,
consisted of 30.6%, 20.5%, and 13% of the total nitrogen
detected on the samples, respectively.
 34.2  Preparation of Coffee-Based Activated Carbons and Their Surface Features 313
TABLE 34.1  Summary of Activation Methods and Textural Properties of Spent Coffee-Derived Carbons
Activation Method:
Reference Carbon Activation Ratio SBET (m2/g) Vmic (cm3/g) Vt (cm3/g)

Ref. 12 Coffee ground carbon KOH: 4.0 2030 NA NA

Ref. 13 AC25% ZnCl2: 0.25 520 0.267 0.279

AC50% ZnCl2: 0.50 617 0.301 0.326
AC75% ZnCl2: 0.75 680 0.305 0.374
AC100% ZnCl2: 1 810 0.339 0.484

Ref. 14 CGC-1.0 ZnCl2: 1 1019 0.34 0.48

CGC-3.5 ZnCl2: 3.5 940 0.35 0.93
CGC-5.0 ZnCl2: 5.0 1021 0.35 1.30

Ref. 16 COFAC-0.5 ZnCl2: 0.5 645 0.326 0.328

COFAC-1 ZnCl2: 1.0 905 0.399 0.492
COFAC-2 ZnCl2: 2.0 1121 0.445 0.954
COFAC-0.5A Acid washed 710 0.354 0.359
COFAC-1A Acid washed 850 0.371 0.486
COFAC-2A Acid washed 933 0.371 0.681

Ref. 17 ACP ZnCl2+H3PO4 640 NA 0.95

Ref. 18 CN2 Nitrogen 16 0.000 0.018

CN2-CO2 Nitrogen/CO2 11 0.000 0.015
CN2-ST Nitrogen/steam 469 0.170 0.362
CZn-N2 ZnCl2/nitrogen 470 0.090 0.454
CZn-N2-CO2 ZnCl2/Nitrogen/CO2 914 0.084 1.010
CZn-N2-ST ZnCl2/nitrogen/steam 305 0.073 0.275

SBET, specific surface area; Vmic, volume of micropores; Vt, total pore volume; NA, not available.

In the work by Kante and co-workers, the ratios of
spent coffee to ZnCl2 were 0.5, 1, and 2.16 The mixtures
were homogenized and carbonized at 800 °C with a 1-h
hold time. A marked increase in the surface area and
porosity was found. While the carbon with the ZnCl2/
spent coffee ratio 0.5 had a surface area 645 m2/g and the
total pore volume 0.328 cm3/g, the sample obtained with
highest activation ratio (2) had a surface of 1121 m2/g
and pore volume of 0.954 cm3/g (Table 34.1). Interest-
ingly, acid washing had a mixed effect on porosity. Thus,
the surface area and pore volume of the former sample
slightly increased (about 10%); for the latter, a 17% and
30% decrease in the surface area and pore volume was
found. These changes were attributed to the removal of
residual zinc salt. Apparently, its deposition in the pore
system of the sample with high activation ratio (∼2 wt%
zinc) contributed to the formation of small pores. The
surface pH values of the unwashed samples were
between 6 and 7. Acid washing resulted in an increase in
the acidity and the pH decrease was 1 to 2 units. The car-
bon had a significant content of oxygen (up to 24 wt%,
which increased with an increase in the activation ratio)
and 2–3 wt% nitrogen. The content of the latter decreased
with an increase in the activation ratio. The presence of
nitrogen was considered to be an important asset of the
coffee-derived carbon. This nitrogen has its origin in caf-
feine. Using a nitrogen-rich precursor is expected to lead
to the uniform distribution of nitrogen functionalities
on the surface. Their chemistry depends on the carbon-
ization temperature; after treatment at 800 °C, pyridinic
nitrogen, pyridine-N-oxides, and quaternary nitrogen
should exist on the surface.19 These species are known to
contribute to carbon basicity,6,20 decrease the band gap,21
and also affect the electronic properties of the surface by
changing the charge on the neighboring carbon atoms.10
A more complex chemical activation of spent coffee
was proposed by Namane and co-workers.17 In their
approach, the mixture of ZnCl2 and H3PO4 (equal molar
concentration of 1 mol/L) was used as an activation agent.
The spent coffee was saturated with that solution, dried,
and then carbonized at 600 °C for 45 min. The resulting
carbon was washed with diluted HCl to remove the solu-
ble salt and the excess of the dehydrating agent. The final
product had a surface area of 640 m2/g and pore volume
of 0.95 cm3/g (Table 34.1). The surface pH was 6.33.
Boonamanuayvitaya and coworkers subjected cof-
fee residue to a range of activation methods, including
chemical activation with ZnCl2, and CO2 and steam acti-
vation of residue derived chars.22 In the case of the chemi-
cal activation, the ZnCl2-to-precursor ratio was 3:1. In all
procedures, the final temperature was 600 °C with a 4-h
holding time. Besides the physical activation of chars, the
chemically activated carbons were further subjected to
a high temperature activation with CO2 and steam. The
most porous carbon was chemically activated with ZnCl2
and then reactivated with CO2. Its surface area reached

I.  INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL TEXT

314 34.  SPENT COFFEE-BASED ACTIVATED CARBONS

900 m2/g with a total pore volume of 1 cm3/g (Table 34.1). TABLE 34.2 H2S Breakthrough Capacities, Surface pH Values
Other activation methods led to materials with surface and Ash Contents
areas ranging from 10 to 470 m2/g. The adsorbent with the Ash content H2S Brth H2S Brth
highest surface area was obtained with chemical activation Sample (%) (mg/g) (mg/cm3) pHin pHexh
in at least one step and it contained from 5% to 11% ash.
COFAC-0.5 3.78 81.3 15.3 6.81 3.55
A second activation step doubled the amount of ash as a
result of burn-off. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy COFAC-1 2.29 127.0 22 6.27 2.65
showed strong bands from various oxygen groups, sug- COFAC-2 4.98 18.3 0.53 6.54
gesting a relatively high degree of surface hydrophilicity.
COFAC-0.5A 1.02 26 5.97 5.20 2.81

COFAC-1A 0.87 58 11.38 4.92 2.48

34.3  APPLICATIONS AS ADSORBENTS
FROM GAS AND VAPOR PHASES
The main purpose of converting spent coffee to acti-
vated carbons is the application of the final products as
adsorbents and separation media. Kante and coworkers
tested the derived materials as adsorbents of hydrogen
sulfide from air at ambient conditions in the presence of
moisture.16 An adsorbent bed (10 mm in diameter, 30 mm
height) containing about 3 cm3 of carbon with particle sizes
between 1 and 2 mm was subjected to a flow of H2S diluted
with moist air (1000 ppm H2S, 250 ml/min, 80% humidity).
Hydrogen sulfide separation from a gas phase is impor-
tant for air cleaning in municipal water treatment plants;
in New York City alone, hundreds of tons of activated car-
bon are applied for this purpose.23 An attractive feature of
the coffee-derived carbon is the nitrogen incorporated in
its matrix. Catalytic carbon containing nitrogen, such as
the commercially available Centaur®, are known for a high
yield of conversion of H2S to sulfuric acid on their surface.24
The evaluation of three coffee-derived carbons with
activation ratios (ZnCl2:spent coffee) of 0.5, 1, and 2
without and with HCl washing indicated that the non-
acid-washed carbon with an activation ratio of 1:1
was the best adsorbent.16 On its surface, 13 wt% sulfur
was adsorbed (Table 34.2), which is comparable to the
amount adsorbed on Centaur or other special catalytic
carbons.25 Washing with HCl resulted in an approximate
50% decrease in the H2S breakthrough capacity, which
was an indication that the inorganic matter residue (ash
content 2.29%) is also involved in binding hydrogen sul-
fide through the formation of corresponding salts. The
high dispersion of that inorganic matter is seen on scan-
ning electron microscopy of the coffee-derived carbon
(Figure 34.2). As the most important feature governing
the performance, a high volume of pores with diameters
between 1 and 3 nm was indicated. These pores work as
specific nanoreactors where water and hydrogen sul-
fide can be adsorbed. Nitrogen in the pores increases
the basicity and thus helps in the dissociation of H2S
to sulfide ions, which are then oxidized by superoxide
ions.25 The formation of the latter is catalyzed by nitro-
gen functionalities incorporated to the carbon matrix.26
Those specific chemical and spatial environments result
COFAC-2A 0.93 20.7 0.64 4.81 3.31
Numbers refer to the activation ratio; Brth, breakthrough capacity; in, initial;
exh, exhausted; A, acid washed samples.
Reprinted with permission from Ref. 16. Copyright Elsevier, 2012.
in sulfuric acid being a predominant product of reactive
adsorption.
Another hazardous species whose removal was tested
on a coffee-derived carbon is formaldehyde vapor. Boona-
manuayvitaya and coworkers generated formaldehyde
vapor by purging nitrogen (115 ml/min) through the
formaldehyde solution.22 The vapor was directed to the
column with the adsorbent and an increase in the weight
was measured. The adsorption was carried out at 30 °C
and the concentrations of formaldehyde solutions were
10, 20, 30, and 38 wt%. As adsorbents, the carbon obtained
using various combinations of chemical activation with
ZnCl2 and physical activation with CO2 or steam were
used. A direct interpretation of the results was rather dif-
ficult because the carbons exhibited a high level of hydro-
philicity; together with formaldehyde, water was retained
on the surface in significant quantities. Nevertheless, an
attempt was made to link the capability to adsorb form-
aldehyde to the slope of the lines representing the depen-
dence of the weight increase (total amount adsorbed) on
the formaldehyde concentration. The results showed that
the carbon obtained in a single step of chemical activation
with ZnCl2 was the best adsorbent, even though its surface
was of half of that of the most porous carbon obtained in a
series of activation procedures. It was concluded that the
presence of hydrophilic groups, not the porosity, are the
most important factors affecting formaldehyde adsorp-
tion on coffee-derived activated carbons.
34.4  APPLICATIONS OF COFFEE-
DERIVED CARBONS AS ADSORBENTS
FROM LIQUID PHASE
The spent coffee-based carbons prepared by Kenniche
and coworkers were used as adsorbents of pollutants from
a water phase.13,27 The carbons obtained by chemical activa-
tion with ZnCl2 with activation ratios of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and
1 were first tested as adsorbents of acids.13 Even though the

I.  INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL TEXT

 34.5  APPLICATIONS OF COFFEE-DERIVED CARBONS AS SUPERCAPACITORS
pH of the surface for all carbons was over 10, the amount
of basic groups on the surface decreased with an increase
in the activation ratio. It was accompanied by an increase in
the porosity. The adsorption of salicylic acid was tested at
room temperature. One gram of carbon was used and the
concentration of salicylic acid was 30 mg/L (pH 3). The car-
bon obtained with a low activation ratio was found to be
the best adsorbent (97% removal). It had the highest ratio of
basic to acidic groups, as determined by Boehm titration,19
and had the highest degree of microporosity. The efficiency
of the salicylic acid removal on the other three carbons was
only slightly lower (93.5–95.4), suggesting that the devel-
opment of porosity compensates for the decrease in the
number of basic groups, which are apparently adsorption
centers for salicylic acid via specific acid-base interactions.
On the same series of carbons as those used for salicylic
acid adsorption, the adsorptive removal of phenols was
evaluated.27 As in the case of salicylic acid, the carbon
obtained with the activation ratio of 0.25 was found to be
the best adsorbent, on which 68% phenol was removed
from its 30 mg/L solution (1 g of carbon, 25 °C, pH 3). The
range of phenol concentrations used to measure adsorp-
tion isotherms was from 10 to 170 mg/L. The pH values
of the initial solution were adjusted by adding either 1 M
NaOH or 0.5 M H2SO4. At equilibrium conditions, the
carbon adsorbed approximately 85 mg of phenol/g from
a phenol concentration equal to 170 mg/L. From a con-
centration of 90 mg/L, 49 mg of phenol/g was adsorbed.
The peculiar plateau on the isotherms was explained by
the fact that phenol molecules replaced water molecules
adsorbed on the carbon surface at a high phenol concen-
tration. The thermodynamic parameters of adsorption
were also evaluated; a heat of adsorption lower than
40 kJ/mol indicated the physical adsorption processes.
Adsorption of hydroquinol, phenol, catechol, and
resorcinol on spent coffee-derived carbon was also
investigated by Namane and co-workers.17 The initial con-
centration of phenols was 20 mg/L. It was found that the
quantity adsorbed depends on the position of hydroxyl
group in the phenol molecule. Because a substitution in
the para position, as that in hydroquinol, results in a pla-
nar structure and a small cross-section area, the surface
of carbon can be more efficiently used when molecules
I.  INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL TEXT
315
FIGURE 34.2  Micrographs of a
ZnCl2-activated carbon sample (COFC-
1) after thermal treatment. Reprinted
with permission from Ref. 16. Copyright
Elsevier, 2012.
are arranged on the surface. Moreover, the electron-
acceptor properties of weakly acidic groups were indi-
cated as attractive forces directing the phenol molecules
to the most favorable positions on the carbon surface. The
adsorption efficiency for hydroquinol, phenol, catechol,
and resorcinol were 80%, 80%, 58%, and 48% respec-
tively. The performance of spent-coffee derived carbon
(640 m2/g) was compared to that of commercial unspeci-
fied activated carbon (950 m2/g) (Figure 34.3). Fitting the
experimental data to the Langmuir model indicated that
the former sample adsorbed 3.22 mg of phenol/g and the
latter adsorbed 3.70 mg/g. These results suggested com-
petitiveness of the spent coffee-based activated carbons
with the commercial products.
Namane and coworkers also evaluated the suitabil-
ity of their carbon to remove acidic and basic dyes, acid
blue and basic yellow.17 The conditions of the adsorption
experiments were the same as those for phenols addressed
above. While on the commercial carbon, 4 mg/g of basic
yellow were adsorbed; on the spent coffee-derived car-
bon, the capacity was 2.5 times higher (10 mg/g). The
opposite trend was found for acid blue: on the latter car-
bon, 3.57 mg/g was adsorbed, whereas 8.33 mg/g was
adsorbed on the former. The good performance of the
coffee-derived carbon for the removal of basic yellow
was linked to the weakly acidic surface of carbon and the
smaller size of this molecule than that of acid blue.
34.5  APPLICATIONS OF COFFEE-
DERIVED CARBONS AS
SUPERCAPACITORS
Rufford and coworkers investigated the application of
spent coffee-derived carbon as supercapacitors in acidic
electrolytes.15 The electrochemical behavior of their mate-
rials was tested with scan rates between 5 and 100 mV/s.
The charge/discharge profiles were measured with current
densities between 0.5 A/g and 5 A/g. The carbon obtained
using ZnCl2:spent coffee with an activation ratio of 1:1
exhibited an energy density up 20 Wh/Kg in 1 M H2SO4
and a specific capacitance measured in a two-electrode
cell reached 368  F/g. The cyclic voltammetry curves
316 34.  SPENT COFFEE-BASED ACTIVATED CARBONS
FIGURE 34.3  Pore size distribution for carbons before and after
(EPM) exposure to H2S. Numbers refer to the activation ratio. A, acid
washed samples. Reprinted with permission from Ref. 16. Copyright Elsevier,
2012.
were rectangular, which is usually linked to a good capaci-
tive behavior (Figure 34.4). The carbon had a surface area
of 1019 m2/g. The total volume of pores was 0.48 cm3/g
and the volume of micropores 0.21 cm2/g. This specific
porosity, and especially the high volume of pores with
sizes between 2 and 4 nm (mesopores), were indicated as
the factors of paramount importance. Moreover, the carbon
contained a significant number of quinone groups (20% of
all oxygen groups), which contributed to pseudocapaci-
tive behavior. In addition to oxygen groups, nitrogen func-
tionalities in pyrollic and pyridinic groups were expected
to take part in Faradaic reactions.28 On the other hand,
nitrogen in quaternary configurations and in pyridine-
N oxides, owing to a positive charge, assisted in electron
transfer to the carbon electrode.29 An important feature
of the coffee-derived carbon was its high stability during
the charging/discharging process. After 10,000 cycles, the
capacitance remained at 95% of the initial performance.
Spent coffee-derived carbons were also used as super-
capacitors in tetraethyl ammonium tetrafluoroborate/
I.  INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL TEXT
FIGURE 34.4  Cyclic votammograms of coffee ground carbon
(CGC) in a two-electrode cell with 1 M H2SO4. Arrows indicate cyclic
voltammograms at specific scan rates. Reprinted with permission from
Ref. 15. Copyright Elsevier, 2008.
acetonitrile electrolyte (TEABF4/AN).14 Here, the car-
bons obtained with ZnCl2-to-coffee activation ratios of
1, 3.5, and 5 were used. For cyclic voltammetry experi-
ments, the scan ratios were from 5 to 50 mV/s and
charge/discharge profiles in two electrode cells were
measured with current loads from 0.05 to 20 A/g. The
best-performing carbon was that with the highest vol-
ume of mesopores obtained with the highest activation
ratio. Its capacitance was more than 100 F/g at a fast
charge/discharge rate of 20 A/g. The energy density
decreased with a decrease in the activation ratio. For
the best-performing carbon at a low current load, it
was 35 Wh/kg; only that carbon showed a stable per-
formance at a fast charge/discharge ratio (16.5 kW/
kg). For TEABF4/AN electrolytes, the sizes of ions
are 1.3 nm for TEA+ 7AN and 1.16 nm for BF4− 9AN.30
Therefore, large mesopores in the carbon obtained with
the highest activation ratio were indicated as the sur-
face features of paramount importance at fast charge/
discharge rates.
34.6  SUMMARY POINTS
• S pent coffee has been shown as a very suitable
precursor for activated carbons. The final materials can
be obtained using either physical (with steam or carbon
dioxide) or chemical (with potassium hydroxide, zinc
chloride, or phosphoric acid) activation.
• The physical and chemical properties of spent
coffee-derived activated carbons can be modified
by changing the activation agent, holding time, and
activation temperature. Even though potassium
hydroxide activation can lead to a carbon with
a surface area of approximately 2000 m2/g, the
most common method of chemical activation is
the one with zinc chloride. Using this method,
micro/mesoporous carbon can be obtained, with a
 References
surface area of 1100 m2/g, volume of micropores of
0.44 cm3/g, and volume of mesopores of 1.3 cm3/g.
• The chemical composition of spent coffee is an
important factor affecting the properties of the
final products. Nitrogen compounds in coffee
result in a carbon with nitrogen functionalities
incorporated into its matrix. These species were
found to be important for reactive adsorption of
hydrogen sulfide and for charge storage in acidic
electrolyte.
• Coffee-derived carbons were tested as adsorbents of
hydrogen sulfide and formaldehyde from the gas/
vapor phase. The specific pore-size distribution
(micro- and mesopores) and nitrogen in quaternary
and pyridinic configurations in carbon pores-
nanoreactors are of paramount importance for
hydrogen sulfide oxidation. The H2S removal
capacity was comparable to that of catalytic
carbons. For formaldehyde adsorption, the surface
chemistry of carbon was more important than its
porosity.
• It was shown that coffee-derived carbons are good
adsorbents of dyes and phenols and thus can be used
in water treatment plants.
• The electrochemical evaluation of the suitability
of coffee-derived activated carbons as energy
storage media has demonstrated their excellent
performance. In an acidic electrolyte, 368 F/g was
stored; in an organic electrolyte, 100 F/g was stored.
The carbons exhibited a very high-energy storage
density and stability in charge/discharge processes.
The good performance was linked to the presence of
specific oxygen and nitrogen groups participating
in Faradaic reactions and to the high volume of
mesopores helping in ion transfers.
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