Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi, I am 13 and i am working on a science project (my first one as well). My project is to turn coffee silverskin to paper. As I read, to make paper pulp, we need 30-40% Cellulose, 20-35% Hemicellulose and 10-25% Lignins. Since coffee silverskin only has 23.77% cellulose, 16.68% Hemicellulose, 28.58% lignins, i dont know should i extract cellulose in coffee silver skin? And the main thing i wanna know is how? There is many methods like using chemicals but i'm not sure. Do i have to do the experiment in the lab because my school in vietnam doesnt have one . I would really appreciate if you can tell me. Thank you!

Hi and welcome to Scibuddies--nice to have you aboard!

Your idea is quite unusual and I don't have an answer for you. Instead, I have a question--what is coffee silver skin? I would guess that it is some leftover part of the coffee bean but I have never heard of it. Could you please explain?

Making paper is not that hard and it can be made from many different plant parts. There are many sites on the web about making paper (e.g., http://www.paperslurry.com/2014/05/19/h ... materials/) so I would suggest that you just take a look at them to find out the general instructions and then adapt them to your 'silver skin' material.

Do you think the paper will smell like coffee? Maybe we should try making paper out of cocoa bean hulls that would smell like chocolate!

Hope this helps. Check back with us when you have more questions.

Good luck!

Sybee

Coffee silverskin is a thin skin that will fall off after you roast the coffee beans. Coffee silverskin also call coffee chaff. Before that, I have came up with pretty much a lot of ideas like making paper from banana peels, orange peels or cucumber peels but I decided to choose coffee silverskin. Still, I am confused between choosing coffee grounds or coffee silverskin because both are coffee waste. Maybe I could mix it up with the waste paper too. I think i will make paper using the handmade way. I hope you can give me some help and advice in deciding which material with be the most effective? And I will see if the cocoa beans hulls would be an option. Thank you!

Hello again and thanks for the added information.

I like the name 'Silverskin'--I think you should use it as the name to call your paper product.

Once you have the basic paper-making process working, You can experiment with mixing different materials to get different effects. Any fibrous plant material like dried banana leaves should work. It depends on what you plan to use the paper for. Think about this because you have the potential for creating a new industry there in the form of handmade papers that are in great demand all over the world.

I can help you with the technical parts of the process. You should take lots of pictures of the materials and processes at different stages. Paper needs to be stable after you have made it so be sure if you use acid in the process to neutralize it afterwards. Acid-free paper is what people and companies want because it lasts longer and does not discolor.

Check this site and many more for how to make your paper acid-free: https://www.instructables.com/topics/Ho ... acid-free/

I really like your project and I want to help you make it work. Is this something that you will present at school science fair? Keep asking questions and I will keep helping.

Good luck!

Sybee

Thank you so much! I will start to do the experiment soon. I hope it will work out well I will also take some pictures and post it here when i finish. I will ask you if there is any problem during the research or experiment. By the way, this is a project for a science competition and i am really looking forward to win a prize...( Even though it is very hard to win one)

That's great! I will be happy to help you win the competition. Making a useful and potentially profitable product like paper from waste plant materials is a great idea and I hope the judges think so too.

I think emphasizing the idea of making the paper acid-free is good because it makes your Silverskin paper more desirable to artists and crafts designers. You can use hardwood ashes to neutralize acid but you will need an indicator to show that the acid has been removed. Try colored flowers or wild fruit juices as these often change color between acid and neutral.

Keep posting questions so I can advise you.

Good luck!

Sybee