If you stopped off at Starbucks and filled up your car with a few cappuccinos we’d think you obviously hadn’t had your morning caffeine hit! But this could soon be reality… sort of.
Researchers at the University of Bath claim that oil can be extracted from ground coffee beans by soaking them in an organic solvent before a process transforms them into biodiesel. They say that around 10kg of grounds, (the amount leftover by coffee shops on a daily basis) produces around two litres of biofuel. Considering we produce 8 million tonnes of coffee each year and 20% of that could be converted into biodiesel, the humble brew could become a sustainable and green energy source.
Powering cars with coffee is not a brand new concept. In 2011, a car named the ‘Carpaccino’ driven by Martin Bacon reached 66mph when tried out near York, running solely on coffee grounds. So the concept clearly works, albeit a bit slow.
The University researchers are now looking into whether other food waste could be utilized in a similar way so watch this space!