Chocolate Power
In New Hampshire, the discarded shells from cocoa beans used to make chocolate for Lindt Lindor truffles may soon be used to create electricity.
Engineers at Public Service of New Hampshire, the state's largest electric utility, began testing the husks earlier this month, the Economist reported:
The shells, which have a thermal value similar to that of wood, will be mixed with the coal in a 1-to-33 ratio. An important part of the test was to see whether the power company’s coal-grinding machinery could also grind cocoa-bean shells to the required talcum-like powdery fineness; the machinery performed admirably.
Unfortunately, there were no large-scale enticing food smells associated with the test. [via teenagefoodie]
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7 Comments:
Noooooo! I love cocoa mulch on my garden.
kurteye at 4:11PM on 03/31/09
The Koreans use buckwheat husks in their remarkably comfy pillows. I wonder if you can stuff cocoa husks in pillows too?
onedaylingers at 4:27PM on 03/31/09
Mr Tomato doesn't like Lindt truffle. To me they taste waxy. I guess maybe a Lindt pillow might be interesting. Cocoa mulch is no good around pets.
JerzeeTomato at 4:50PM on 03/31/09
Chocolate Power!!
http://bakingandmistaking.blogspot.com
cool2bars at 5:45PM on 03/31/09
Great! Another source of fuel we don't make or grow. Which part of the world will we beholden to now? On the upside, we'll probably have to consume more chocolate as part of our patriotic duty...YEA!
thegoch at 6:37PM on 03/31/09
yay! thank you for posting this! the Economist is a great resource for food information. :D
teenagefoodie at 8:52PM on 03/31/09
GO NEW HAMPSHIRE!
@thegoch---they are recycling something that already exists, as much as of an environmentalist as I am, and would like to see more solar and wind energy used, we must recognize that this is a step in the right direction, and that there is now less waste (cacao shells) and less coal used. Even if it seems like an insignificant amount of reduction, every bit counts.
veggieout at 9:43PM on 03/31/09