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Biodiesel or coffee grounds

Published: 2026-08-05 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/05, A new study by the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technology at the University of Bath suggests that spent coffee grounds can be used to make biodiesel and have the potential to be a sustainable source of second-generation biofuels. The findings were published in the latest issue of ACS journal Energy and Fuels.

The latest research from the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technology at the University of Bath shows that waste coffee grounds can be used to produce biodiesel and has the potential to become a sustainable source of second-generation biofuels. The findings are published in the latest issue of the ACS journal Energy and fuels.

Biodiesel can be extracted by soaking coffee grounds in organic solvents through a process called "ester transfer". The researchers made biofuels from coffee powders from 20 different regions, including caffeine and non-caffeine, and found that there was little difference in the physical properties associated with biofuels produced by coffee from different sources. "as far as other biodiesel is concerned, the output and properties of biodiesel vary with different sources, and sometimes biodiesel does not meet the specifications. Research shows that different coffee raw materials can produce biodiesel of all specifications, which is undoubtedly good news for biofuel producers and users. " Explained Dr. Chris, a researcher in the department of chemical engineering at the university.

The world produces about 8 million tons of coffee a year, and the oil content of abandoned coffee is as high as 20% per unit weight. According to the physicists' Organization Network on June 18 (Beijing time), researchers believe that biodiesel produced by coffee will only become a small part of the energy structure, and its most practical use at present is that coffee chains collect coffee grounds and send them to processing centers that produce biodiesel. these small-scale biodiesel can provide fuel for the vehicles that carry goods in the chain stores.

"We estimate that small cafes produce about 10 kilograms of waste coffee every day, which can produce about 2 liters of biofuel," said Hood Jenkins, lead author of the paper and a doctoral student at the university's Center for Sustainable Chemical Technology. There is also a lot of waste in the coffee bean roasting industry, as well as some discarded defective beans. If expanded, coffee biodiesel will have great potential to become a sustainable source of fuel. "

Biomass energy, including biodiesel, is indeed a sunrise industry, but its development is very slow, and the main bottleneck is the shortage of raw materials. First of all, in the case of not having enough to eat or not eating well, converting food into fuel is an ethical dilemma; secondly, the collection mode and region of raw materials, and the economy of transportation and storage also restrict large-scale production. Therefore, biomass energy is now more of a breakthrough in concept and technology. Although the production of diesel from waste coffee grounds has solved the dilemma of not competing with others for food, whether it can really become a sustainable source of second-generation biofuels needs to be considered in terms of scale and economy.

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