the Hidden Value of Coconut By-Products
focus on shells: Benefits, Uses & Sustainability Credentials
High Performance, Low Impact: The Sustainability Advantage of Coconut Shell Products
Coconut shells represent a vast and valuable resource, and are far more than just a by-product.
When transformed into activated carbon and barbeque briquettes, they become high-value products that contribute to the circular economy, support livelihoods and offer compelling environmental benefits.
To better understand and quantify these benefits, the Sustainable Coconut Partnership (SCP) carried out a research project on the sustainability credentials of coconut shell-based activated carbon and BBQ briquettes. Under this project, independent environmental and life cycle assessment experts 2-0 LCA were commissioned to carry out research on GHG emissions. Financial support was also provided by two SCP member companies: Jacobi Carbons and Fritz Schur Consumer Products.
In a Nutshell:
• The data shows that coconut shell activated carbon has lower emissions than coal-based activated carbon. This varies from 31-68% lower, depending on the charcoal production method used
• There is a pathway to reach a 79% emissions reduction for coconut shell activated carbon, through
cleaner charcoal production
• Coconut-based solutions deliver best-in-class climate performance, with forward-thinking industry
leaders developing and deploying cutting-edge, low-emission technologies across coconut shell activated
carbon value chains
Using coconut shell to make these products meaningfully advances the circular economy because it is:
• A renewable resource: unlike using natural gas for
barbecuing or coal to make activated carbon
• A by-product of the food and oleochemical
industry, which can be put to good use, rather than
wasted
• A fantastic case of upcycling: transforming low
value shell into high value products
• Capable of being recycled several times, in the
case of activated carbon1
• Supporting smallholder coconut farmer incomes,
through the sale of shell or charcoal
explore
the data:
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