Hydrothermal Liquefaction for Biofuel Synthesis: Assessment of VFA (Volatile Fatty Acid) and FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester) Profiles from Spent Coffee Grounds

Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are an underutilized biomass resource with high potential for renewable energy and bioproduct synthesis. This study applies hydrothermal liquefaction to transform SCGs into high-quality biofuels and value-added biochemicals. Five experiments were conducted over a temperature range of 300 °C to 380 °C, highlighting significant temperature-dependent shifts in product composition. Notably, phenolic compounds peaked at 1180.1 mg/L at 300 °C before declining sharply, while chemical oxygen demand (COD) dropped to a minimum of 13,949.8 mg/L at 350 °C—a temperature that also maximized hydrochar yield (26%) and achieved a high heating value of 32.9 MJ/kg. Plasma chromatographic analyses showed the dynamic behavior of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs); maximum levels of acetic (540.7 mg/L), formic (67.8 mg/L), and propionic acids (155.6 mg/L) were recorded at 300 °C, whereas FAMEs such as methyl butyrate, methyl hexanoate, methyl undecanoate, and methyl palmitate increased markedly at higher temperatures due to intensified carboxylation reactions. These results denote the potential of hydrothermal liquefaction to valorize SCGs for the production of biomolecules, expanding the conventional sustainable biofuel production pathways.