Using data and connected devices to optimise waste collection and its end usage has become the new buzzword. Coupled with this the Internet of Things is helping cities improve everything from traffic data, weather, and parking, to water usage and waste management.
Oil giant Shell in collaboration with technology company Bio-Bean has launched an initiative to power some of London’s local transport buses using a biofuel made from waste coffee grounds.
Interestingly, as a part of its commitment to reduce the dependence on crude oil and increase the use of biofuel and reduce CO2 emissions, India had encouraged use of ethanol mix in petrol from 2003 onwards. It’s a great example of what can be done when we start to reimagine waste as an untapped resource. It has been started in the UK, but imagine the potential of a country like India that drinks more than 13 billion cups of coffee a year.
In case of London, the B20 biofuel contains a 20 percent bio-component which contains part coffee oil. This coffee oil is added to the London bus fuel supply chain to help power some of the buses, without need for modification. Biofuel provides a cleaner, more sustainable energy solution for buses across London’s network by decreasing emissions.
Bio-Bean works with its fuel partner Argent Energy to process coffee oil into a blended B20 biofuel. 6,000 litres of coffee oil has been produced, which if used as a pure-blend for the bio component and mixed with mineral diesel to form a B20, could help power the equivalent of one London bus for a year.