News

Researchers turn Tim Hortons cups into biofuel

July 5, 2010

Researchers at Canada's University of Manitoba have developed a new source for ethanol: Tim Hortons discarded coffee cups, according to CBC News. The researchers came up with the idea to use the paper cups after seeing the large number of them going into the trash around campus.

From the story:

"We see a lot of cups being thrown away," [Microbiologist and co-author Richard] Sparling said. "Knowing that these are not sent away for any type of recycling at this time, we thought ... they would make excellent food for the bacteria that we use to make biofuels such as ethanol or even hydrogen."

Since starting the project "on a whim" in 2009, they've had some promising results: they have found they are able to generate about 1.3 litres of ethanol from about 100 Tim Hortons cups.

They're hoping that will eventually lead to more sustainable sources of ethanol, widely used as a gasoline additive and alternative fuel for cars.

Right now, ethanol is mainly produced from food crops such as corn and wheat, but that displaces food production and pushes up food prices.