Residue Management in the Olive Oil industry: Valorisation and Environmental protection

Project Information

ReMOOVE

Grant agreement ID: 101052284

DOI

10.3030/101052284

Project closed

EC signature date 14 June 2022

Start date 1 September 2023

End date 31 August 2025

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 168 788,96

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ReMOOVE (Residue Management in the Olive Oil industry: Valorisation and Environmental protection)

Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

ReMOOVE aimed at exploring existing and novel possibilities of complementing the current technology to obtain olive oil to establish an innovative olive-oil biorefinery that converts its main waste, olive pomace or alperujo, into the raw material of different industrial processes. ReMOOVE focused on assessing the environmental impact of a proposed waste valorisation plan integrated in the olive-oil biorefinery and compared it to the environmental impacts caused by current olive pomace management methods.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The types of waste generated in the olive-oil sector were identified and quantified, including olive pomace, olive cake, olive stones, leaves, small branches, and wastewater. Focus was given to olive pomace and olive cake. The main wastes in the sector, as well as the olive oil produced, were quantified for the main producing countries. Their yearly evolution was studied. Current practices to manage olive pomace in the EU, with a focus on Spain, was investigated. Industrial visits and communication with an industrial partner served to further collect data and stay up to date with the current status of the sector. Its relevant legislation was studied to make sure the possible ways to valorise olive pomace can be implemented at an industrial scale.
Several Waste Valorisation Options (WVOs) were explored. Next, a specific waste valorisation option was designed. The main objectives were to recover compounds of interest (WVO2) and produce bioenergy (WVO4). The use of chemicals as reagents was eliminated, being able to use only water as well as the olive cake as starting materials. This waste valorisation option was based on sequential hydrothermal treatments at increasing temperatures, followed by pyrolysis of the final solid. This allowed obtaining a low-cost adsorbent material that can be used for the removal of contaminants (WVO3). Several combinations of reaction time, temperature and solid/liquid ratios were trialled for each hydrothermal treatment. A neuro-fuzzy approach was used to identify the ideal process conditions and optimise the overall process. All steps were fully trialled and implemented at laboratory scale.
The environmental impact of the valorisation process designed was quantified by LCA. A range of environmental impact categories at midpoint and endpoint level was considered. Several process configurations were trialled. Environmental hotspots were identified, allowing further optimisation of the environmental performance. This environmental performance was compared against that of the conventional process. Opportunities to improve these results (e.g. purification of the polyphenols extracted, following by commercialisation and consequent market substitution) were identified.
Possibilities for upscaling of the waste valorisation solutions and the biorefinery approach proposed were explored. Broad economic constraints and overall challenges were identified. Potential social benefits were also identified.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The scientific impact includes the proposition and design of a waste valorisation process for olive pomace, its full implementation at laboratory scale, the characterisation of all products and by-products obtained in the process, and the determination of the optimal process conditions for each process. It also includes the quantification of the overall environmental impact of the valorisation process, the quantification of this impact for a range of environmental impact categories, the identification of environmental hotspots and main affected areas of protection, and the environmental comparison with current management practices. These scientific impacts contribute to the following fields:
Economic: design of a valorisation process that is able to use a low-value waste material to obtain a range of chemical compounds that can be commercialised and bioenergy. This has the potential to give additional economic benefits to the olive oil businesses.
Social: production of useful products from a waste feedstock, which may be able to reduce their price and therefore be more accessible to consumers. Furthermore, potential environmental benefits obtained by the proposed waste valorisation process result in a clear benefit to society.
Industrial: proposition of an alternative way to deal with a problematic waste material and production of valuable products from it, which benefits the olive oil industry.

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