Process for obtaining honey and/or flour of coffee from the pulp or husk and the mucilage of the coffee bean

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for using the by-products of coffee in the production of proteins, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals, through methods of concentrating and conserving the mucilage and the pulp (husk) in order to obtain industrially processed coffee honey and/or pulp meal (husk), which is/are suitable for use in products for human or animal consumption, drugs, cosmetics or as raw materials for the production of alcohol for fuel (ethanol), wherein said process makes it possible to reduce the pollution of the environment by avoiding the waste of coffee by-products and to exploit the properties and advantages of same for producing the aforementioned products.

Claims

1. A process for obtaining coffee honey from the mucilage of coffee cherry, comprising the steps of: a) separating the coffee bean from the mucilage and the pulp; b) mixing the pulp and the mucilage to form a mixture; c) entering the mixture comprising the mucilage and the pulp of step b) into a centrifugal separator containing a screen; d) separating the solids of the mixture having a size greater than 2 mm from the liquid phase with solids having a size less than 2 mm in which the mucilage is contained and from which it is recovered; e) subjecting the mucilage to a heating process to reduce the microbial load; f) subjecting the mucilage to enzymatic treatment; and g) vacuum dehydrating the enzymatically treated mucilage from step f) to obtain said coffee honey.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the mixture comprising the pulp and mucilage contains about 34% of mucilage and about 66% of pulp.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the centrifugal separator containing the screen is operated at 900 rpm.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the enzymatic treatment step is carried out in storage tanks having a capacity of 10000 liters each to which 100 ppm of pectolytic enzymes are added.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein the heating process is carried out at a temperature in the range from 50 C. to 80 C.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

(1) FIG. 1 corresponds to a flow chart for the process of the present invention wherein the separation of the raw materials, i.e. mucilage and pulp of coffee are indicated;

(2) FIG. 2 corresponds to a specific flow chart for the process of obtaining coffee honey from the process of FIG. 1; and

(3) FIG. 3 corresponds to a specific flow chart for the process of obtaining coffee flour from the process of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) The process of the present invention is based on the use of the coffee bean sub-products which correspond to the pulp or husk and the mucilage, which are used for obtaining coffee honey and coffee flour being used as raw material for the manufacture of a plurality of products due to its high content of antioxidants, proteins and minerals and due to the beneficial properties.

(5) In this regard, when the cherry coffee is harvested, this is sent to the benefit, wherein it is then washed and selected, the coffee bean is peeled from which the seed is obtained in order to continue its dry coffee process and, the sub-products (pulp and mucilage) are evacuated by means of a transportation means, preferably a worm screw, in a mixture of 34% mucilage and 66% pulp, which is fed to a centrifugal separator built in stainless steel with a 2 mm screen, which has a speed of 900 rpm and with a feeding capacity of 8 ton/hour and technologically modified for this kind of product. Then, the equipment proceeds to separate the solids having a size greater than 2 mm (pressed pulp, with 3% mucilage) and liquids with solids having a size less than 2 mm (mucilage). The solids (pulp) are sent to the plant for obtaining coffee pulp flour and the liquids (mucilage) are sent to the plant for obtaining coffee honey, wherein from this point two separate processes are carried out in order to obtain coffee honey from liquid mucilage and coffee flour from solid pulp with 4% mucilage as shown below:

(6) Process for Obtaining Coffee Honey:

(7) The mucilage, which corresponds approximately to 17% of the coffee bean, is stored in a container having a capacity of 5000 liters with a storage time no more than 9 hours, then it is conveyed in a tank car with a capacity of 5000 kg and conveyed to the plant for production of coffee bean after a quality analysis wherein the reading of the Brix degree greater than 9% (sugars) and pH greater than 4.5 (decomposition process) are performed; such readings are carried out with manual electronic equipments easy to handle, wherein such task is made by the operator in charge of collecting mucilage. Below such parameters, the coffee honey is rejected (mucilage represent 10% of the bean but this amount only refers to the mucilage adhered to the bean since the remaining 10% is adhered to the pulp; hence, it is important to feed the separator of the present invention with these two sub-products for its separation and further use).

(8) Initially, the mucilage is passed by a receiving area located in the outer part of the plant for producing honey and comprising an area having a storage tank of 3000 liters, which is connected by a two inch pipe with the next stage.

(9) Then, the mucilage is gravity fed to the centrifugal separator, and its caudal is controlled by a fast action valve which guarantees a flow of about 3000 l/h; the mucilage is passed by a 0.4 mm sieve as raw material for animal food and by a 0.1 mm sieve for human food, and cosmetology in order to eliminate most of the suspended solids, which guarantees a final product completely smooth and free of foreign elements. The separated solids are sent to the flour plant and the mucilage with no solids is send to the enzymatic treating tank. This process is carried out in a sieving area, as shown in FIG. 2.

(10) Now, once the mucilage has passed through the area and the sieving step, it is subjected to an enzymatic treating step, wherein the product is stored in three tanks with a capacity of 10000 liters each subjected to a heating process at a temperature in the range from 50 C. to 80 C., preferably 65 C., in order to reduce the microbial load. After decreasing the temperature at about 45 C., 100 ppm of pectolytic enzymes are added, wherein the pectolytic activity, i.e. the pectinase activity, is to exclusively degrade pectin, wherein such activity is necessary for clarifying the mucilage. This is also important because it anticipates the breaking of walls of the vegetable cells and allows a greater water output in the evaporation process.

(11) Thus, the pectolytic enzymes facilitate the release of the cell content of mucilage and degradation of pectin. The objective of this treatment is to obtain a more stable mucilage, rich in phenolic compounds and also easier to clarify, since the pectin chains prevent the release of the natural water from the mucilage, since when the chains are broken it allows the release of water and increases the concentration of nutrients in the evaporation process and its digestibility. In order to guarantee a proper enzymatic treatment, it is necessary to treat the mucilage at a temperature in the range from 40 C. to 45 C. and with a minimum time of 30 minutes, wherein the greater the enzymatic treatment time, the greater the concentration of sugars and nutrients of the final products and its further use.

(12) Then, the concentrated mucilage or coffee honey (due to its high content of sugars) is achieved by means of a vacuum dehydration step at a temperature no more than 65 C. which allows to obtain a product with a minimum nutritional damage by heat, high digestibility and palatability, which dry material is constituted almost entirely by amino acids and reducing and non-reducing sugars with a life of at least six months in environmental conditions and stored at room temperature from 18 C. to 30 C., which guarantee its organoleptic and microbiologic characteristics.

(13) This treatment begins with mucilage in a concentration of about 7 to 11 Brix, preferably 9 Brix (% sugars) and by elimination of natural water is taken to a concentration of 55 Brix guaranteeing thereby the following final product or raw material characteristics:

(14) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Compositional Analysis Composition % MOISTURE 30-40 GROSS ENERGY Cal/g 2345 PROTEINS 4.46 RAW FIBER 2.35 FAT 0.00 ASHES 2.35 SULFUR 0.08 CALCIUM 0.18 COPPER ppm 10.59 PHOSPHOR 0.07 IRON ppm 135.29 MAGNESIUM 0.04 MANGANESE ppm 38.82 POTASIUM 0.69 SODIUM 0.05 ZINC ppm 4.71 BRIX DEGREES 55 POLYPHENOLS mg GAE/100 G 380.3

(15) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Sense Characteristics Parameters Specification Color Characteristic Smell Characteristic to the product free of foreign smells and putrefaction

(16) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Physical Characteristics Parameters Specification Presentation Gelatinous honey

(17) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Microbiological Analysis Parameters Result Clostridium perfringens Absent in one gram Enterobacteria 100-500 Brine Negative

(18) Finally, once the raw material based on coffee mucilage is obtained, i.e. coffee honey due to its high content of sugars, this raw material can be used for the manufacture of a plurality of products, such as for human feed, livestock feed, cosmetics, drugs and carburant alcohol (ethanol), among others, wherein such products comprise a high content of antioxidants, proteins and minerals, which improve the performance and health of the consumer, whether it is human or animal.

(19) Process for Obtaining Coffee Flour:

(20) FIG. 3 of the present application shows the necessary steps to be carried out for obtaining a raw material corresponding to coffee flour from the coffee pulp.

(21) In this regard, mainly it is important to take into account that the flour from coffee pulp can replace up to 20% corn in formulations of concentrates for animal feed, and in an attempt to process coffee pulp (husk) there is difficulty due to the ratio of mucilage to pulp (husk), which represents between 34% and 66%, in the drying process of mucilage since when evaporated it forms a sugar crystal and the pulp is encapsulated, which does not allow the internal drying, whereby a pressing process was begun with large amounts of mucilage.

(22) Thus, one of the biggest problems in the process of drying fruit pulps is that the moisture of the raw material is too high (about 92%), and it is necessary to be taken to moisture levels between 10% and 14%, which represents to eliminate a moisture percentage between 75% and 80%. This leads to a very high power generation in order to achieve the evaporation of all this moisture percentage, therefore, the technology used for the process of the present invention is the mixture of solar energy and generated energy, as detailed below.

(23) Initially, there is a coffee pulp receiving area, wherein such previously pressed pulp is conveyed by a worm screw with a length in the range from 40 m to 80 m, preferably 60 m, to the solar dryer.

(24) Once the pulp is located in the solar drying area, the product is received in a greenhouse having an area in the range from 600 to 1500 m.sup.2, preferably 900 m.sup.2, with a concrete floor and a greenhouse type plastic ceiling with side curtains for handling the airflows. Thus, the product is manually watered in layers of 10 cm which allows to store about 90 m.sup.30.7 density=63 ton of pulp. This also allows to convert in 2 days 63 tons with a relative humidity of about 90% in 35 tons with a humidity of about 50% turning the product every 3 hours to guarantee the elimination of moisture, fungi and odors with a mixer wagon designed for such purpose.

(25) If this process if made for 13 days, i.e. 26 days per month, a production of approximately 455 tons of pulp is generated with a moisture content of about 50%, which is passed through a turbo dryer which eliminates lumps and particulates the pulp and eliminates the relative humidity thereof, which allows to accelerate the drying processes.

(26) Then, it is moved to the industrial mechanical drying area, wherein the drying is carried out from the solar yard wherein the moisture was reduced to about 50% until reaching saturation (10% to 12% moisture), which is fed by a worm screw type elevator guaranteeing a continuous flow and balancing the steam pressure of the conveyor and the air. This industrial drying is carried out in a tunnel type dryer with stainless steel conveyors, wherein the coffee pulp with a moisture of about 50% is conveyed by the 4 m long conveyors system over eleven conveyors, which allows to generate a waterfall effect, guaranteeing thereby the homogenization in the drying by delivering product between trays via gravity and circulation of hot air in counterflow.

(27) In this regard, the drying process produced in the conveyors system dryer for coffee pulp is by means of evaporation and drag, which means that the air must be heated at a temperature over 90 C. in order to produce evaporation of the water contained in the pulp. In this process, the following stages can be considered: a) Heating: When entering the pulp with a moisture content of about 50%, which is conveyed by a worm screw system from the solar yard to the conveyor drying silo and relatively cold (40 C.), a first step is initiated in the dryer which corresponds to heating, wherein in such stage the heat requirement is limited since when having a counterflow system, the hot air has already fulfilled the drying vaporization phase, achieving that the pulp can reach a temperature of about 70 C. The heating is slow causing the evaporation of water, since when evaporated the water increases 500 times its volume whereby the drying is slow and gradual. The incoming heat distribution in the conveyor silo is over the opposite side, and it is the area with less thermal concentration, which is appropriate. b) Vaporization: To correctly understand what happens in this stage, it is necessary to consider that there is always a production of a migration of moisture from the coffee pulp to the counterflow hot air, reaching about 15% humidity and normal conditions of pressure and temperature. Inside the dryer, a very slow displacement of the moisture (drying) is produced which increases when increasing the temperature of the final product at about 80 C. Thus, in this stage, when the pulp reaches higher temperatures the water mass transfer is accelerated from the pulp to the circulating gases, the dryer depending on the capacity of the gases to continue receiving moisture being evaporated, with the speed necessary to not have saturation of moisture from the air. Moreover, in this stage most of the amount of heat is consumed, maintaining the thermal conditions and the conveying speed of the pulp, and the thickness of the layer is about 25 mm. c) Drying: this stage is characterized by the reduction of moisture of the coffee pulp flour up to minimum levels (10% to 12%), producing thereby the displacement of moisture mainly by dragging. This stage results slower, due to the fact that the moisture migrates each time less easily. d) Stabilization: This final stage basically consists in the output area where the coffee pulp flour remains substantially dry with no exposure to heat, in contact with the atmospheric air, whereby it could also be called as cooling step. Taking into account that the reduction of moisture could achieve values less than the balance point (12%), as it is contacted with air, the balance will stabilize between the steam pressures of the coffee pulp flour and the air, this condition also depending on the relative humidity of the atmospheric air. Also in this stage, the quality control of the flour output in the dryer is made, allowing to directly check if the drying process has been correctly developed.

(28) Finally, there is a final step in the hammer mill drying area, wherein the product after stabilized is passed through a hammer mill with a screen of approximately 4 mm and a capacity of about 4000 kg/h to be then packed, stored and commercialized.

(29) According to the previously described process, below is a table with compositional analysis.

(30) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 1 Compositional Analysis Composition % MOISTURE 9-12 GROSS ENERGY Cal/g 3883 PROTEINS 10.5 RAW FIBER 18.1 FAT 1.64 ASHES 2.35 SULFUR 8.2 CALCIUM 0.4 COPPER ppm 16 PHOSPHOR 0.13 IRON ppm 756 MAGNESIUM 0.12 MANGANESE ppm 85 POTASIUM 3.82 SODIUM 718 ZINC ppm 5 BRIX DEGREES 5.85 POLYPHENOLS mg GAE/100 G 7486

(31) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 2 Sense Characteristics Parameters Specification Color Characteristic Smell Characteristic to the product free of foreign smells and putrefaction

(32) TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 3 Physical Characteristics Parameters Specification Presentation Flour

(33) TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 4 Microbiological Analysis Parameters Result Clostridium perfringens Absent in one gram Enterobacteria 100-500 Brine Negative

(34) According to the previously described process, below is a compositional comparison table between coffee pulp flour obtained by the process of the present invention and corn.

(35) TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 5 Compositional Comparison of Coffee Flour and Corn PRODUCT PROTEIN FAT FIBER ASHES E.L.N % Corn 10.0 5.9 1.7 2.0 3650 Coffee Pulp Flour 10.5 1.64 18.1 8.2 3883

Examples

(36) According to the information shown above, the object of the present invention was initially to produce molasses as raw material for animal feed and production of ethanol from such contaminant. However, when beginning the tests with pigs feed, there were some big changes in the individuals such as: elimination of diarrheic problems, saving up to 25% in feed, increase in the milk of pregnant pigs, female pigs usually produced 9.5 live animals and the rate went to 13 live animals; when born the sucking pigs had an average weight of 1,447 grams and with the honey obtained by the process of the present invention as supplement to the pregnant pigs, the average increased to 1600 gr per sucking pig. In lactation, the pigs have an early weaning at 21 days when the animal reaches an average weight of 6 kg, but with the coffee honey obtained by the process of the present invention, the animal reached such weight at 19 days. It should be noted that these industrial results were obtained in a farm with 4000 animals and at a digestive level the pig is the closest one to humans. Therefore, it can be declared that due to the benefits of the coffee honey and the flour obtained with the process of the present invention, it can be guaranteed that it corresponds to a good economical alternative as nutritional and healthy food (nutraceuticals).