Evaluation of Sustainable Alternative Fuels from Waste Coffee Grounds

The economy is gradually transitioning to a circular model that extends resources, reduces waste and requires a great deal of creative thinking. Both established and emerging global economies view waste as a main bioresource for our next generation energy. Nowadays a growing recognition evolves that the twin problems of waste management and resource depletion can be solved together through the utilization of food waste as a resource, using green and sustainable technologies that can play a significant part in the forthcoming bio-economy era. Coffee is one of the most popular beverages with the consumption continuously increasing and generating huge amounts of solid residues in return. This solid waste after the extraction of the coffee beverage is known as Waste or Spent Coffee Grounds (WCG). Among others the valorization has the potential to be directed as a bioresource for sustainable energy and particularly for the production of alternative liquid fuels for ICE. The aim of the current study is to formulate alternative fuel from WCG and to investigate the fundamental properties per relevant specifications and requirements. Parameters related to stability, cold flow properties, lubricating characteristics and ignition quality are studied. A comparative assessment is carried out by comparing the behavior of WCG deriving fuel to other alternative and conventional fuels.