Researchers in Nevada are reporting that waste coffee grounds can provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks. ... [The authors] note that the major barrier to wider use of biodiesel fuel is lack of a low-cost, high quality source, or feedstock, for producing that new energy source. Spent coffee grounds contain between 11 and 20 percent oil by weight. That's about as much as traditional biodiesel feedstocks such as rapeseed, palm, and soybean oil.
Greg Laden's Blog
Evolution, Life Sciences, Science Education, Human Evolution, and Stuff
Learn more about Charles Darwin and his work.
Looking for stuff about birds?
Lean more about lions
An archaeological expedition to the Congo
The Skeptical Search Engine
The contents of Greg Laden's Blog are copyrighted by Greg Laden.
Recent Comments
- Lotharsson on HeartlandGate: Anti-Science Institute's Insider Reveals Secrets
- Jonathan Eisen on HeartlandGate: Anti-Science Institute's Insider Reveals Secrets
- daedalus2u on HeartlandGate: Anti-Science Institute's Insider Reveals Secrets
- daedalus2u on HeartlandGate: Anti-Science Institute's Insider Reveals Secrets
- Greg Laden on Charles Darwin, Geologist
- Andrew C. Holmes on Charles Darwin, Geologist
- Calli Arcale on Environmentally Friendly Hard Drive Case
- Calli Arcale on The grey squirrel from a birder's point of view
- Don Parnell on The grey squirrel from a birder's point of view
- Don Parnell on The grey squirrel from a birder's point of view
Search
Profile
Click on "About" for the big picture, and "Archives" for the details.
Recent Posts
- 2011 LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Award Winners
- HeartlandGate: Anti-Science Institute's Insider Reveals Secrets
- Charles Darwin, Geologist
- Looking for stuff about birds?
- Environmentally Friendly Hard Drive Case
- Charles Darwin February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882
- Whitney Houston has died
- Lions!
- Changing the rep of Fungi one mushroom-based robot thingie-builder at a time
- More Mississippi Meanderings
Blogroll
If you don't see yourself on my blogroll, just drop me a line and let me know. I'll add you.*- 10,000 Birds
- Alpha Meme
- a Nadder!
- Angry by Choice
- Armchair Dissident
- (((Billy))) The Atheist
- blogfish
- blogSci
- Blond Nonbeliever
- Blue Lion Blog
- Bug Girl's Blog
- Camels with Hammers
- Catalogue of Oganisms
- Cassandra's Tears
- Class M Planet
- Climate Bites
- Cocktail Party Physics
- Counter Minds
- Cranky Linguist, The
- Crowded Head, Cozy Bed
- Dead Racist Society
- Deep Sea News
- Dispersal of Darwin
- Divine Afflatus
- Dread Tomato Addiction
- Evil is Underrated
- Evolved and Rational
- Evolving in Kansas
- Evolving Thoughts
- Fellman Studio Blog
- Flying Trilobite
- Further Thoughts
- Hoxful Monsters
- ICBS Everywhere
- Illusory Tenant
- It's Alive!!
- Jafcisa
- Letters from a Broad
- Life Before Death
- Looking For Detachment
- Matharu's Rants and Raves
- Mors dei
- Natural Reckonings
- Nature Blog Network
- Providentia
- Qeyḥ bāḥrī
- Quiche Moraine
- Religion, Sets, and Politics
- Sandwalk
- Sarah Zielinski
- Science Notes
- The Seething Primate
- Skepchick
- Spanish Inquisitor
- Splendid Elles
- Survival Machine
- Synapostasy
- TalkOrigins
- Tangled Up in Blue Guy
- Tetrapod Zoology
- The Flying Trilobite
- The Inoculated Mind
- The Intersection
- The Loom (new)
- The Scientific Activist
- The Unexamined Life..
- The Zone
- Thinking for Free
- Think Progress
- Three Toed Sloth
- Toomanytribbles
- Traumatized by Truth
- Truth Is a Woman
- udreamofjanie
- Uncommon Liberty
- View from the Pond
- Vickie Henderson Art
- When Pigs Fly Returns
- Writer's Daily Grind
Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
« The cat that came back after 13 years | Main | Now, THIS is how you do origami »
Catch a caffeine buzz, save the planet
Category: Earth Science
Posted on: December 15, 2008 3:12 PM, by Greg Laden
Find more posts in: 
Environment
EnvironmentTrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/87876
Comments
New metric: I will know I'm living in the future when my diesel hybrid car smells like coffee all the time.
Posted by: Stephanie Z | December 15, 2008 4:40 PM
Dunkin Donuts installs biodiesel pumps -- your exhaust smells like coffee and donuts, and you can tell that you're cutting emissions because the the exhaust clouds emerge from your tailpipe with visible donut holes (smoke rings). ;-)
Posted by: chezjake | December 15, 2008 5:43 PM
If you ever light a coffee bean on fire, it does indeed pump out a fair bit of oil as it burns; in fact, one of the hazards of homeroasting is igniting your roast! There is plenty of warning, it smokes quite a bit to let you know that a palatable roast was, you know, five minutes ago...
Personally, my grounds go in the compost. That stuff's too valuable to waste on playing in giant go carts.
Posted by: John | December 16, 2008 4:30 AM
I'm going to assume that that's per year... According to a comment over on The Oil Drum, world diesel demand is 22 million barrels per day. There are 42 US gallons in a barrel and 365 days in a year, so spent coffee grounds can potentially supply approximately 22,179 barrels per day, or 0.1% of current world demand, if you could capture all of them. Of course, that's probably not accounting for the energy used in collection and processing.
Not exactly what I'd call "abundant"...
Posted by: Dunc | December 16, 2008 5:36 AM
It would be wonderful if localized programs started sprouting up in metro areas that would allow things like this to be collected for the inevitable programs that would be required to serve these kinds of green happenings. Of course it could all be coordinated via the web for sign-ups and whatnot.
Garbage on Mondays, coffee grounds on Tuesdays, used cooking oil on Thursdays...
Posted by: Wilson | December 17, 2008 4:21 PM
@ Greg L.
thanks for idea, should work here, ground coffee is Italy's national fragrance.
@Wilson
No distilled sugarcane day? you're from a dry state?
Posted by: l'oca s. | December 18, 2008 8:18 AM