Water Used to Process Raw Coffee Beans can Fuel Electric Generators

Coffee farmers in Central American are using water used to process raw coffee beans to fuel electric generators by extracting the methane gas from it. The biogas generators are being fueled by these coffee byproducts that used to pollute local rivers. The fermentation of the coffee tree's berries leads to the production of methane gas which is highly polluting and a leading contributor to global warming.

This pilot project is being carried out at 19 farms in Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. It was launched in 2010 by Dutch sustainable farming group UTZ Certified, seeking to use less water in coffee growing and use it more creatively. Water use has fallen by more than 80 percent at the coffee farms after implementation of the project.

Vera Espindola Rafael, Latin America coordinator for UTZ Certified said, "We've had very good results. We've achieved all the goals we set- producing biogas, reducing pollution and using less water."

UTZ is rolling out the project in Colombia, Peru and Brazil. It is looking for funds to do the same in Kenya and Vietnam.

Source-Medindia