Shell/Bio-Bean: Nigeria’s yearly 275m cups of coffee can power buses— Arthur Kay
An indication has emerged that the Royal Dutch Shell will convince its partner, Bio-Bean in coming to Nigeria to develop the latest Coffee Waste Ground Biofuel Energy currently used in powering public buses in London as part of drive to deepen alternative energy varieties.
Founder and Vice Chairman of Bio-Bean, Arthur Kay explained in an interview that the biofuel and biochemical, could be used as alternative source of fuel to power buses.
He said “We are launching bio-bean buses by using biodiesel to power 100 of London buses. Though this is currently used only in London, in future we hope to bring it to a country like Nigeria, where they drink about 275 million cups of coffee a year.
Statistics show that Nigerians consume huge amount of coffee on a yearly basis.
He said with the success already achieved in London, “We’re thinking about applying the same concept in far different places and locations”.
On the type of energy challenges the Coffee Waste Ground Biofuel Energy would address, Bio-Bean boss averred that the clean alternative energy scheme will handle two key problems in a country like Nigeria.
“The first is a waste problem, because coffee drinking creates a lot of coffee grounds and in the UK alone we drink tens of tons of millions of coffee and that produces a lot of waste bags. What bio beans does is that we work with a lot of waste management companies and coffee factories to collect coffee grounds and bring them into our factory thereby save a lot of carbon dioxide being sent to landfills.
“The second thing is that instead of leaving them out there, we then turn the coffee grounds into a range of energy products such as pellets. So, what we’re launching today is to showcase how the alternative source of energy we created by diesel extracted from the oils of these coffee grounds can be used to power London buses. In essence, there are two elements to this event; one is saving waste and the second is displacing conventional fuel, replacing it with renewal energy sources.
According to Arthur Kay, the technology is not limited to countries like the UK, saying “The bio bean project is not solely about coffee or biodiesel; it is a broader insight into the context that there’s no such thing as waste or rather resources in the wrong places”.
