

[Creative Commons photo by Ahmed Rabea]

University of Nevada, Reno researchers discovered that used coffee grounds can be successfully converted into biodiesel for powering cars and trucks. The fuel even smells like coffee! Not only does this new process have the potential to keep all of those coffee grounds out of the trash, researchers Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, and Narasimharao Kondamudi say that coffee-based biofuel is more stable, due to coffee’s high antioxidant content.



Used coffee grounds contain between 11 and 20% oil, which is about on par with other biofuel sources such as soybeans. Scientists collected discarded grounds from a coffee chain and were able to convert 100% of the oil they extracted into biofuel.

The stability aspect is really exciting. Traditional biofuel gels or crystallizes in cold temperatures, making it a less viable option in winter and in areas with colder year-round climates. Would this new, more stable option withstand colder temperatures?

Growers produce more than 16 billion pounds of coffee per year worldwide. Rather than tossing the bulk of the used grounds into the waste stream, scientists estimate that spent coffee grounds could produce up to 340 million gallons of biodiesel annually.

They are planning a small scale testing program for the fuel within the next six to eight months.

Read more about coffee grounds and biofuel on Gas 2.0.