A Truck Fueled By Chocolate

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very mechanically-minded. I know the basics, what makes the car go, that kind of thing but my brain just isn’t built for understanding in-depth mechanics.

This, however, has me fascinated:

Alas – as far as chocoholics are concerned – the confectionery arriving by the truckload at the Ecotec plant in Preston is not for eating.

These are the misshapen, the melted and the rejected, and they will all be transformed into a more precious commodity: fuel. Or, to be more precise, bio-diesel.

The idea of pulling into a filling station and asking for a tank of white, milk or plain might seem preposterous.

But later this month, Londoner Andy Pag and his co-driver John Grimshaw, an electrician from Dorset, will set out on a 4,000-mile drive across the Sahara in a Ford Iveco Cargo lorry powered by just that: fuel that began life as chocolate.

The article also provides a bare-bones explanation of how it works:

First, the cocoa butter is extracted from the waste chocolate via a secret mechanical process.

The sugar that’s left over is used to make bio-ethanol, which isn’t used in the chocolate bio-diesel but can be used as a petrol substitute.

The cocoa butter is then melted, before being mixed with methanol and caustic soda – chemicals which you use to unblock your sink. These remove the fatty acids from the mixture.

Finally, the liquid is “washed” – a technical term that means acid is added to neutralise its pH level.

The pair have left England, but I don’t see a mention in the articles about what day they’re planning on starting this. If I find any more info I’ll keep you updated!

• Chocolate Is Turned Into Fuel (with video)
• Chocolate to fuel African expedition
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