Waste coffee has potential as second generation biofuel

New research suggests that waste coffee could be used to power vehicles, help improve the sustainability of biofuels and respond to the issue of climate change.

Researchers at the University of Bath have released a report published in the ACS Journal Energy and Fuels, detailing findings which show that waste coffee grounds have more potential for creating biofuels than originally thought.

With eight million tonnes of coffee produced around the world every year, there is the opportunity for waste coffee from a number of regions to be used in the production of biodiesel.

'This oil also has similar properties to current feedstocks used to make biofuels. But, while those are cultivated specifically to produce fuel, spent coffee grounds are waste. Using these, there's a real potential to produce a truly sustainable second-generation biofuel,' says Dr Chris Chuck, from the University's Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies. 'The uniformity across the board for the coffee biodiesel fuel is good news for biofuel producers and users.'