Coffee production generates significant quantities of by-products during wet processing, particularly coffee pulp. In Colombia, approximately 85% of coffee plantations now consist of disease-resistant varieties such as Coffea arabica L. var. Cenicafé 1, developed by the National Coffee Research Centre (CENICAFÉ) and promoted by the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC). While coffee husk has been extensively characterized for bioenergy applications, the thermal and chemical properties of coffee pulp (pericarp) from Cenicafé 1 remain largely unexplored, despite its abundance at the farm level. This study aimed to characterize the thermo-chemical properties of dry coffee pulp from the Cenicafé 1 variety and to assess its potential for on-farm bioenergy applications. Fresh coffee pulp (200 kg) was dried in a 3 mm polycarbonate parabolic solar dryer to determine drying kinetics and dry pulp yield, with experiments conducted in triplicate. The dry pulp was subsequently combusted in a three-layer static-bed mechanical dryer to estimate the quantity required to dry 1 kg of coffee beans from 53% to 10% wet basis (wb). Dry coffee pulp exhibited a net calorific value of 16.51 MJ kg?1, a volatile matter content of 87.5%, and a moderate ash content of 3.5%. Elemental analysis revealed favourable combustion properties, with low sulphur and chlorine contents. Experimental combustion tests indicated that the energy contained in the dry pulp produced from two coffee cherries is approximately sufficient to dry one wet coffee bean (assuming a combustion efficiency of 0.5), consistent with values reported for coffee husk. These results demonstrate that dry coffee pulp from Cenicafé 1 is a viable, sustainable, and farm-accessible biofuel for decentralized energy production in coffee-growing regions, supporting circular economy initiatives and rural energy autonomy.
agricultural waste; biomass valorisation; renewable energy; circular economy; solid biofuels; combustion properties; smallholder farming