Used coffee cups become cellulosic ethanol

University of Manitoba researchers have developed a way to convert used coffee cups into cellulosic ethanol.

According to a story from Canada’s CBC News, the researchers are using one particular kind of disposable coffee cups, from the Tim Hortons coffee chain, founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario and very popular in Canada. Microbiologists Richard Sparling and David Levin started the project last year when they noticed all the discarded coffee cups from Tim Hortons outlets on the University of Manitoba campus and came up with the idea that they might make good food for bacteria they were testing to make biofuels. So far, they’ve found that 100 Tim Hortons cups can make 1.3 litres of ethanol, or about a third of a gallon.

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