福特將用麥當勞的咖啡來制造汽車零部件

福特將用麥當勞的咖啡來制造汽車零部件

It’s not just humans who run on coffee anymore. Cars will soon follow suit.

不僅僅是人類在喝咖啡，汽車很快也會效仿。

Ford recently partnered with McDonald’s to convert coffee waste into car parts — an environmental initiative to curb rampant plastic pollution and emissions created by both java and automobile production, reports CNN.

據美國有線電視新聞網報道，福特公司最近與麥當勞公司合作，將咖啡廢料轉化為汽車零部件，這是一項環(huán)保舉措，旨在遏制java和汽車生產過程中產生的猖獗的塑料污染和排放。

To do it, technicians heat up the coffee chaff — the husk of the bean that gets discarded during roasting — and cut it with plastics and other additives, according to CNBC. They can then use the java-infused substance to create eco-friendly molds for a variety of car components for Ford.

據美國全國廣播公司財經頻道報道，為了做到這一點，技術人員將咖啡糠(咖啡豆在烘烤過程中被丟棄的外殼)加熱，然后用塑料和其他添加劑將其切開。然后，他們可以用這種含java的物質為福特的各種汽車零部件制作環(huán)保模具。

The resultant auto parts will be 20 percent lighter — and therefore more fuel-efficient — and save the company up to 25 percent more energy during their manufacture. Not only that, but the Macchi-auto parts are more durable, says Debbie Mielewski, senior technical leader of materials sustainability for Ford.

由此產生的汽車零部件將會輕20%，因此更省油，并在制造過程中為公司節(jié)省高達25%的能源。福特負責材料可持續(xù)性的高級技術主管黛比?米萊夫斯基(Debbie Mielewski)說，不僅如此，麥基汽車零部件更耐用。

One of the first cars to get the new technology will have headlight sockets that swap the traditional talc — a nonrenewable mineral — with the far more available coffee composite made from 300,000 bean skins. The latter would normally go to waste if not used, explains Mielewski.

首批采用這種新技術的汽車之一將配備頭燈插座，將傳統(tǒng)的滑石粉(一種不可再生的礦物)換成由30萬塊豆皮制成的咖啡復合材料。Mielewski解釋說，如果不使用，后者通常會被浪費掉。

Ford plans to start producing sustainable headlamp housings for the Lincoln Continental by year’s end.

福特計劃在年底前開始為林肯大陸生產可持續(xù)的前大燈外殼。

McDonald’s aims to do its part by designating a “significant portion” of its North American coffee chaff for Ford manufacturing. Last year, the Golden Arches served almost a billion McCafe coffees in the US alone.

麥當勞計劃將其北美咖啡渣的“相當大一部分”分配給福特汽車制造公司。去年，僅在美國，麥當勞就供應了近10億杯麥咖啡。

The vehicle manufacturer is also eyeing ways to utilize even more McDonald’s food waste in the future.

這家汽車制造商還在考慮未來利用更多麥當勞食品垃圾的方法。

“They must have a lot of ketchup discards — tomato skins and peels and seeds,” says Mielewski, who is convinced they can make magic with french fry skins.

“他們一定有很多被丟棄的番茄醬——番茄皮、果皮和種子。”米萊夫斯基說。

This isn’t Ford’s first eco-focused symbiosis with a food and beverage producer. In 2016, the automaker teamed up with tequila titan Jose Cuervo to harness agave’s potential as a sustainable bio-plastic.

這并不是福特第一次與食品和飲料生產商建立生態(tài)合作關系。2016年，這家汽車制造商與龍舌蘭巨人Jose Cuervo合作，利用龍舌蘭作為一種可持續(xù)生物塑料的潛力。