It’s something most of us just throw away, but Purdue University graduate Rich Bruins has created a way to turn old coffee grounds into fuel for your next cookout.
“Coffee grounds are more energy dense than wood, so we’re just shipping off all of this potential energy to landfills,” said Bruins. “Over the past three years, I’ve been able to make the technology to harvest that energy and turn it into a premium all natural charcoal briquette.”
It’s called Coffee Coals, and the product offers a faster heating, green alternative for those who grill. Bruins left his job as an engineer at Fairfield Manufacturing, and now spends his days in his garage making the product.
“I collect them from the coffee shops, dry them out, and process them one at a time on my press,” Bruins added.
Bruins earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue in 2011, and it was during that time he developed the technology to turn coffee grounds into charcoal.
While in college, Bruins worked at the Purdue Christian Campus House and developed the technology of using coffee grounds to grill food while assisting other engineering students with clean water efforts in Guatemala. Bruins said while on a Guatemalan coffee farm, the team of students compressed agricultural waste material into briquettes that fueled fires to boil drinking water.
Bruins said this experience inspired him to create Coffee Coals. However, the next step was taking his product and turning it into a business, so Bruins turned to the Purdue Foundry for guidance.
“I’m an engineer at heart, and they were able to show me the ropes of the business world and really get our business moving,” said Bruins.
Purdue Foundry Entrepreneur in Residence, Tim Peoples, worked with Bruins to develop his business. He said the Foundry was able to provide the resources needed so Bruins could start his company.
“Rich came to us looking for help on how to start his company, understanding how to commercialize his product, develop a marketing strategy, understanding financials,” said Peoples.
Bruins is using a campaign through Kickstarter.com to raise money, so he can move production into a bigger facility.
Although coffee may seem like an odd fuel for your next tailgate, Bruins said the food won’t end up tasting like java.
“All that’s left behind is the coffee bean itself, none of the oils,” said Bruins. “So you have a really rich charcoal taste with almost a sweet accent to it.”
Bruins said he hopes to someday invest a portion of his company’s profits to clean water efforts overseas.
Source: wishtv.com/2014/10/23/purdue-grad-creates-way-to-grill-with-old-coffee-grounds/
