Heavy Metals in Wet Method Coffee Processing Wastewater in Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico

One of the driving forces of the economy in southeast Mexico is agriculture. In Soconusco, Chiapas, coffee is one of the main agricultural products and is traded on the international market. Coffee grown in this region is processed using the wet method in order to be commercialized as green coffee. In the beneficio (coffee processing plant) water is an essential resource which is required in great quantities (Matuk et al., 1997; Sokolov, 2002) as it is used to separate good coffee berries from defective ones, as a method of transporting the coffee berries to the processing machinery, in the elimination of the berry husk from the coffee grains (pulping) and finally in the post-fermentation washing process. This process gives rise to one of the smoothest, high-quality coffees available (Zuluaga, 1989; Herrera, 2002). Currently, many producers in Soconusco are opting for ecological coffee production, which has, among its many criteria, human health and environmental protection (Pohlan, 2005). Furthermore, increasing concern during the past few years regarding the production of food that is free from contaminants such as heavy metals, and recent environmental policies in relation to aquatic ecosystem protection, have given rise to questions concerning the quality of water used in coffee processing, as well as pollutants produced by this agroindustry. Water used in the coffee processing plants originates from the main regional rivers whose hydrological basins stretch from the Sierra Madre mountain range down to the coastal plain. As well as providing water, these rivers also receive the wastewater produced during coffee processing (Sokolov, 2002).