Park Auto Group

Monday, November 10, 2008

Coffee grounds converted into biodiesel

You know that cup of Joe you have with breakfast that energizes you for the day? Now comes word that it can also energize your means of transportation.
Scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno have developed diesel fuel out of used coffee grounds. Mano Misra discovered the potential when he made a cup of coffee for himself one night but forgot to drink it. The next morning, he looked into the cup and found a layer of oil floating on the liquid content.

Analysis showed that coffee grounds contain about 10 percent to 15 percent oil by weight. Researchers found that the oil can easily be extracted and converted into biodiesel. There is enough used coffee grounds to make several hundred million gallons of biodiesel a year. Our take? So, let’s see. We guess we could be seeing biodiesel filling stations at every McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s all around the country and the world. Remember, biodiesel can also be made out of used vegetable oil. Take that OPEC.