Valorisation strategies for cocoa pod husk and its fractions

Abstract

Cocoa pod husk (CPH) is the main by-product (ca. 70-75% weight of whole fruit) of the cocoa harvest, an important and economic crop in developing countries. It is a rich source of minerals (particularly potassium), fibre (including lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin) and antioxidants (e.g. phenolic acids). An existing practise is the return of CPH to soil with potential benefits (or disadvantages) for cocoa productivity and soil sustainability that have not been fully characterised. Currently, alternative low-value applications of CPH include its use as animal feed, as a starting material for soap making and activated carbon. Other biotechnological valorisation potentials for CPH and its fractions include the production of bio-fuels and their incorporation in food systems. Physical, chemical or biological pretreatment approaches are needed in order to achieve desirable fractions in a cost-effective and sustainable manner for novel applications in food and non-food sectors.

Recent Trends in the Use of Pectin from Agro-Waste Residues as a Natural-Based Biopolymer for Food Packaging Applications

“…The use of other sources to obtain pectin-based polymers in good grade and quality has been proposed in the last few years, such as eggplant peel [37], chamomile waste [45], cocoa pod husk [59,66], banana peel [49], mango peel [50,61,67] or tomato husk [28]. Tropical fruits have been also studied in the last years to obtain HMP.…”

Potential of Bioenergy in Rural Ghana

“…After harvesting the cocoa fruits, the cocoa pod husks which account for up to 76% of the cocoa fruit are left in large piles on the farms to decompose, thereby causing foul odour, soil contamination and black pod rot disease [42]. A total of 20% to 30% of annual yield loss across the globe is caused by black pod rot, with some farmers experiencing up to 90% loss yearly [43]. Ghana produces about 858,720 tonnes of CPH annually, which is equivalent to 19% of the total global production [41].…”

“…Whiles CPH conversion to useful products such as antioxidants can promote economic development among farmers; it can also boost cocoa production [43]. Recent studies conducted by Syamsiro et al [44], Tsai et al [45] and Adjin-Tetteh et al [46] reveal that CPH has a relatively high heating value of 17-18 MJ/kg.…”

Enzymatic Extraction and Characterization of Pectin from Cocoa Pod Husks (Theobroma cacao L.) Using Celluclast® 1.5 L

“…Due to the chemical composition of cacao husk, which includes fiber, phenols, carbohydrates, lignin, protein, and minerals, it has been used as feedstock in conversion processes to obtain pectins [ 6 , 7 ], make briquettes [ 8 ], extract phenolic [ 4 ], produce biofertilizers and activated carbon, and as fiber source for animal feeding [ 9 ]. Pectins are a diverse group of polysaccharithe fluid is considered pseudo plasticdes of d -galacturonic acid with units linked by α 1–4 bonds that also contain other sugars such as galactose, arabinose, glucose, and xylose.…”