COCOA BY-PRODUCTS 
37 
RESULTS OF THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION 
Two samples of cocoa shells believed to be representative of the 
commercial product were obtained. One was furnished by a manu- 
facturer of cocoa and chocolate, and represented the average run 
of his shells by-product. The other was a sample of a lot of cocoa- 
shell meal that had been purchased in the usual course of business 
by a manufacturer of commercial fertilizers. 
These samples were analyzed not only to furnish information as 
to the type of product being marketed as cocoa shells in this coun- 
try, but also to obtain data that would provide a standard with 
which to compare (for commercial purposes) the anatyses of the 
relatively unknown cocoa press cake and extracted cocoa. It was 
thought that the shells, being a product closely related to the press 
cake and extracted cocoa, would serve admirably as a control ma- 
terial, by which to gauge the relative fertilizer value of the last- 
named products. 
The results of a proximate analysis of the two samples of shells 
are given in Table 5 : and the data on the solubility and quality of 
their nitrogen are included in Table 3. 
Table 5. — Composition of commercial cacao shells 
Sample 
Material as received 
Num- 
ber 
Description 
Mois- 
ture 
Ether 
extract 
(crude 
fat) 
Petro- 
leum 
ether 
extract 
Nitro- 
gen 
(total) 
ex- 
pressed 
as am- 
monia, 
NH 3 
Phos- 
phoric 
acid 
(total) 
ex- 
pressed 
as 
P2O5 
Potash 
(total) 
ex- 
pressed 
as 
K 2 
Ash 
Crude 
fiber 
Theo- 
bro- 
mine 
and 
caffeine 
alka- 
loids 
115 
117 
Shells from roasted Bahia 
beans, from factory 
Commercial cocoa-shell meal 
Average (2 samples) 
Per 
cent 
2.87 
5.25 
Per 
cent 
9.15 
9.29 
Per 
cent 
8.55 
8.53 
Per cent 
3.61 
3.33 
Per cent 
1.23 
1.26 
Per cent 
2.52 
2.21 
Per 
cent 
8.30 
8.12 
Per 
cent 
15.64 
16.23 
Per cent 
2.0 
1.6 
4.06 
9.22 
8.54 
3.47 
1.25 
2.37 
8.21 
15.94 1.8 
Sample 
On dry, ether-extract-free basis 
Num- 
ber 
Description 
Nitrogen 
(total) 
expressed 
as 
ammonia, 
NH 3 
Phos- 
phoric 
acid 
(total) 
expressed 
as P2O5 
Potash 
(total) 
expressed 
as K 2 
Ash 
Crude 
fiber 
Theobro- 
mine 
and 
caffeine 
alkaloids 
115 
Shells from roasted Bahia beans, from 
factory. . 
Per cent 
4.1 
3.9 
Per cent 
1.40 
1.47 
Per cent 
2.86 
2.59 
Per cent 
9.43 
9.50 
Per cent 
17.78 
18.99 
Per cent 
2.27 
117 
Commercial cocoa-shell meal 
1.87 
Average (2 samples) 
4.0 
1.44 
2.73 
9.47 
18.39 
2.07 
The amounts of fat, crude fiber, and total " ammonia " found in 
the samples indicate the presence of important quantities of nib 
material. The proportion of nibs in a sample of this kind can 
best be estimated from its fat content, since the spread between the 
fat content of pure shells and pure nibs is much greater than the 
