Nevada team converts coffee grounds to biodiesel; says Starbucks could produce 3 Mgy from its waste, plus pellet-stove fuel

January 23, 2008

In Nevada, a chemical and engineering team at the University of Nevada has developed a process to convert used coffee grounds to biodiesel. The researchers says that up to 3 million gallons of biodiesel could be produced annually just from the 100,000 tons of coffee ground produced by Starbucks each year. The team said that it concludes that the coffee-ground oil feedstock would cost between $0.45 to $1.84 less than feedstocks such as corn or soy, is more stable than comparable feedstock oils, and the grounds can be further processed into fuel for pellet stoves.

In August, the U.S. Agriculture Department awarded $19.5 million in loan guarantees to Appling County Pellets for a wood pellet fuel plant in Appling County, Georgia.

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Research