Towards managing cocoa waste in Ghana

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Date
2000-02-01
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Abstract
Cocoa plays an important role in the socio-economic development of the country, however, emphasis on the crop is so far in the processing of cocoa beans; the rest of the fruit is considered as waste at the production sites. The study was carried out to identify and quantify the parts that are currently considered waste in the preparation and processing of cocoa bean and to ascertain some of the qualitative characteristics of the waste to see what use could be made of them Field survey using a semi-structured questionnaire was undertaken and laboratory analysis conducted to gather information pertaining to the study. The study revealed that the preferred variety of cocoa cultivated by the farmers is the hybrid, while the amelonado and amezonia varieties are cultivated on smaller scale. It was found that waste products generated on the farm during the extraction of cocoa bean were: diseased fruit, pulp sweatings, placenta and husk. On the other hand, cocoa bean shell, gum and free fatty acid are the main waste products from the cocoa bean processing plant in Ghana. The XRD and AAS analysis indicate that the placenta is rich in potassium and phosphate, while the husk is rich in potassium. Thus the placenta when ashed could be used for fertilizer production, while the husk could be used for soap production. A lesser use of the husk as an ingredient for jam production was also identified because of pectin its content (6%).
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A thesis submitted to the Board of Postgraduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science degree in Environmental Resources Management, 2000
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