A RMIT University team led by Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering, Dr Srikanth Venkatesan, is using coffee-ground waste to create an innovative concrete mix that could help reduce the use of sand in the construction industry.
The team was able to produce sample “coffee bricks” that contain 10% less sand than a typical brick without compromising the strength of concrete. These bricks will be on display at RMIT’s EnGenius event on Wednesday 23 October which will see more than 1,000 final year engineering students from 11 disciplines showcase their projects and products to industry and the public.
Dr Venkatesan, who worked with Bachelor of Engineering (Civil and Infrastructure) (Honours) students Senura Kohombange and Anthony Abiad on the project, said this novel solution could help reduce the extraction of sand from places with fragile ecosystems while also preventing a huge amount of coffee-ground waste from entering the landfill.
“The biggest challenge is ensuring the addition of spent coffee grinds does not lead to a reduction in strength of concrete, and this is the focus of further testing and development to make this product viable for use in real-world applications,” he added.
Kohombange said the project could see the waste from the 1.3 million cups of coffee drunk daily in Australia turned into concrete used in homes, driveways or office buildings.
“It seems fitting then that we’re working on this project in Melbourne, a city known for its great coffee culture,” Kohombange added.
“We are very excited to present the project, share the idea with others and showcase how some innovative thinking can turn a waste product into an everyday construction material.”
