Four thousand years after it was first used as a form of nutrition for the Olmec people of Mesoamerica, engineers are finding new ways to harness the potential of the fruit from the miraculous Theobroma Cacao tree, better known today as cocoa pods. Their solution could provide rural farming communities in Ghana with a new form of renewable energy, that simultaneously makes use of the one part of the cacao fruit that is left to rot, the husk.
By examining the thermal properties of the four main types of cocoa pods a team at Nottingham University have proved that these husks are not waste at all, but a power source, that when gasified could generate electricity for remote farming communities. A solution that if delivered at a local scale would create a circular economy for the cocoa bean fruit and take the country even further along its journey of poverty reduction.
Listen now to find out more about the story of cocoa and how it could transform off-grid communities in equatorial cocoa growing nations in this episode.
GUESTS
Professor Jo Darkwa, University of Nottingham
Dr Julius Ahiekpor, Centre for Energy, Environmental Sustainable Design, Ghana
SOURCES
