The Food Waste Hub was established through the collaboration of multiple sectors, including the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), the Pollution Control Department, Dow Thailand Group, as well as government agencies, private sector organizations, and academic institutions, all recognizing the importance of waste management through innovation. Food waste has been identified as a primary challenge that hinders the recycling rate from reaching its full potential, as contamination from food residues makes it difficult to reuse or recycle materials—despite the fact that such waste still holds economic value for generating income, creating jobs, and promoting commercial investment. The initiative aims to serve as a platform for information exchange, to create economic value from food waste, to reduce the volume entering disposal systems, and to minimize contamination of other waste streams in order to increase reuse and recycling.
In response, stakeholders and network partners from all sectors have jointly developed a participatory approach to food waste management, ensuring accessibility and practical applicability both in operational and commercial contexts. This is facilitated through the creation of the Food Waste Hub, a platform designed to disseminate knowledge derived from completed research projects or research prototypes that can be further developed for practical use. The Hub also provides an interactive space for visitors and followers to submit questions, comments, and suggestions to advance research topics and environmental innovations. Research and innovation outputs featured on the platform are categorized into three groups: Success Cases, Awarded Research, and Ready-to-Use Cases.
Market Ready: Adsorptive Media from Coffee Grounds – An Innovative Approach to Sustainable Wastewater Treatment for Environmental and Industrial Applications
As Thailand’s industrial sector continues to grow, particularly in food processing and agro-industries like sugar milling, it faces a critical environmental challenge: managing the vast quantities of wastewater it produces. This effluent, often rich in organic matter and suspended solids, exceeds legal discharge standards, posing a significant threat to the nation’s water resources. Conventional treatment methods can be costly and complex, creating a pressing need for innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions that can turn an environmental liability into a valuable resource.
Wastewater management in the industrial sector remains a significant challenge in Thailand, particularly for sugar mills and food processing industries, which often generate large volumes of effluent containing suspended solids and organic matter exceeding legal discharge standards. To address this issue, Prof. Dr. Thammarat Koottatep, the principal investigator and project leader, together with Dr. Tatchai Pussayanavin, Dr. Chawalit Chaiwong, and others, has spearheaded the development of an innovative composite adsorptive media, created from waste materials such as spent coffee grounds and fly ash. This solution has been introduced as an effective, cost-efficient, and environmentally friendly approach for wastewater treatment, and has been formally recognized as a ‘Ready-to-use Case’ underscoring its practical applicability and potential for immediate implementation. As shown in the food waste hub’s Ready-to-use case: “Advanced adsorptive media for treating industrial wastewater for agricultural use”.
This adsorptive media functions as both a sorbent and a filter, capable of efficiently removing excess nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) as well as organic contaminants (BOD, COD) from effluents. Key advantages include the utilization of low-cost, readily available domestic waste materials, a simple operational system that does not require advanced technology, ease of maintenance, and a compact footprint making it suitable for facilities with space limitations.
From an environmental perspective, this innovation helps reduce pollutant discharge into natural water bodies, preventing water degradation and eutrophication. It also supports the reuse of treated effluent in agricultural applications, thereby reducing reliance on natural water sources and maximizing resource circulation, in line with the principles of a circular economy.
In industrial applications, the adoption of composite adsorptive media enables factories to meet legal wastewater discharge standards, supports Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) policies, reduces wastewater management costs, and creates opportunities for water reuse, such as for irrigation during drought periods. Moreover, the coffee ground-based media can be integrated with other treatment systems to enhance overall wastewater treatment efficiency, beyond its application in sugar mills and food processing industries. Related studies, such as the treatment of wastewater from an ethanol production plant (Koottatep, T. et al., 2023)1 and its application in Vertical Garden Constructed Wetlands (VGCWs) (Koottatep, T. et al., 2024)2, further substantiate the effectiveness and versatility of this coffee ground-based media.
Moreover, the use of adsorptive media derived from waste materials addresses current waste management challenges by converting industrial by-products such as coffee grounds and fly ash into value-added resources. This not only alleviates the burden of waste disposal but also generates sustainable economic value. The approach aligns with national policies on water resource management, drought mitigation, and the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) model, as well as contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production).
In conclusion, adsorptive media derived from waste materials is not merely a technological advancement for enhancing wastewater treatment efficiency; it represents an intelligent resource management strategy that harmoniously integrates environmental, industrial, and circular economy dimensions.
Reference:
Koottatep, T., Pussayanavin, T., Khamyai, S. et al. Performance Evaluation of an Advanced Adsorptive Media for Treating Wastewater from an Ethanol Production Plant. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 515 (2023). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11270-023-06551-x
Koottatep, Thammarat, et al. “Performance evaluation of integrating vertical garden constructed wetlands (VGCWs) with diverse plant species and modified media for treating septic tank effluent.” Ecological Engineering 205 (2024): 107293. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857424001186?via%3Dihub