The Amazing Car that Runs on Coffee

Scientists and inventors are scrambling to find other alternative sources of fuel. They have to because before this century is out, they believe the planet will run out of fossil fuel sources.

Most have researched about using sunlight, wind, and water to fuel today's engines. There are also others who use more unusual sources of fuel such as soy beans, wood, and even used cooking oil. One of the strangest fuel sources is, believe it or not, 100 percent coffee granules! A group of engineers in the UK bought a used vehicle and converted its fuel system to accept coffee granules as its main fuel source. The car is aptly named "Car-puccino."

It works like this: coffee granules are dumped in a heated gas cylinder. Heating causes the granules to break down into hydrogen. The hydrogen travels to a radiator pipe where it is cooled down, then goes to a filter to remove impurities. Once the gas is clean, it is pumped into the engine where it burns, just like any other fuel. During tests, the car can attain a top speed of 60 miles per hour.

The inventors of this truly amazing conversion claimed that a kilo of ground coffee granules can provide power for the Car-puccino for three miles. That is about 56 cups of espressos per mile! For a 210 mile trip from Manchester to London, they expect to consume about 70 kilos of ground coffee! The engineers of Car-puccino stressed that this invention is just to show that there are other fuel sources available. They also hoped that the Car-puccino will inspire other people to make useful inventions.