Coffee biodiesel properties differ little despite varieties used
June 17, 2014
BY Ron Kotrba
Researchers from the University of Bath’s Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies conducted a study recently looking at fuel properties of biodiesel produced from different types of waste coffee grounds.
Twenty different geographically sourced coffees, including regular and decaf and Robusta and Arabica types, were used to make various biodiesel samples that were then tested and fuel properties compared. The end result was little variation in properties despite the spectrum of coffee feedstock used to make the fuels.
Advertisement
“For all samples, with the exception of Vietnamese coffee, the FAME profile of the resulting biodiesel was consistent,” states the study's abstract. “The oils contained between 35 and 40 percent palmitic acid, between 7 and 8 percent oleic acid, between 44 and 50 percent linolenic acid, and between 7 and 8 percent stearic acid, although the fuel properties were reasonably variable across the data set.”
Chris Chuck, Whorrod Research Fellow from the Department of Chemical Engineering, said, “The yields and properties of biodiesel can differ depending on the growth conditions of current biodiesel feedstocks, sometimes causing them to fall out of specification. The uniformity across the board for the coffee biodiesel fuel is good news for biofuel producers and users.”
Advertisement
“We estimate that a small coffee shop would produce around 10 kilograms of coffee waste per day, which could be used to produce around 2 liters of biofuel,” said Rhodri Jenkins, a Ph.D. student in Sustainable Chemical Technologies and first author of the study. “There is also a large amount of waste produced by the coffee bean roasting industry, with defective beans being thrown away. If scaled up, we think coffee biodiesel has great potential as a sustainable fuel source.”
Their study was recently published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.
Related Stories
The USDA on April 14 announced the cancellation of its Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. Select projects that meet certain requirements may continue under a new Advancing Markets for Producers initiative.
The USDA reduced its outlook for 2024-’25 soybean oil use in biofuel production in its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, released April 10. The outlook for soybean oil pricing was revised up.
BDI-BioEnergy International has signed a contract with Ghent Renewables BV to begin the construction of a pioneering biofuel feedstock refinery plant. Construction is underway and the facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
Verity Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Gevo Inc., has partnered with Minnesota Soybean Processors (MnSP) to implement Verity’s proprietary track and trace software. The collaboration aims to unlock additional value through export premiums.
U.S. operatable biofuels capacity increased slightly in January, with gains for ethanol, according to the U.S. EIA’s Monthly Biofuels Capacity and Feedstock Update, released March 31. Feedstock consumption was down when compared to December.
Upcoming Events
