Techno-Economic Assessment of Anaerobic Digestion for Olive Oil Industry Effluents in Greece

Georgios Manthos, Dimitris Zagklis, Constantina Zafiri and Michael Kornaros ()
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Georgios Manthos: Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering & Environmental Technology (LBEET), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 1 Karatheodori Str., University Campus, 26504 Patras, Greece
Dimitris Zagklis: Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering & Environmental Technology (LBEET), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 1 Karatheodori Str., University Campus, 26504 Patras, Greece
Constantina Zafiri: Green Technologies Ltd., 5 Ellinos Stratiotou Str., 26223 Patras, Greece
Michael Kornaros: Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering & Environmental Technology (LBEET), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 1 Karatheodori Str., University Campus, 26504 Patras, Greece

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Olive mill wastes are some of the most important waste streams in Mediterranean countries, such as Greece, and their uncontrolled disposal without treatment imposes serious environmental impacts. In the last few decades, the European Union has defined the framework for a sustainable circular economy, aiming for viable waste treatment solutions. Under this scope, anaerobic digestion could be a remarkable solution for efficiently reducing waste organic matter and producing green energy, at the same time. In this study, the economic sustainability of an anaerobic digestion unit for olive mill effluents was assessed. It was found that a centralized treatment plant that can process liquid olive mill effluents during the olive harvesting season and other agro-industrial by-products (such as fruit and vegetable waste) for the rest of the year could be a viable solution, with waste capacities of 780 m 3 OMW d −1 and 245 kg FVW d −1 . The internal rate of return was estimated at 6%, the net present value was estimated to be EUR 2 million, while the payback period was calculated to be 12 years. Furthermore, through the sensitivity analysis, the selling price of the electricity produced and the productivity of the waste processed in the plant alongside the olive mill wastewater were identified as the main factors affecting the viability of the process. The findings of this study can be applied in the development of a biomass-processing facility, taking into consideration the economic feasibility and the processing of challenging-to-treat wastes to generate green energy.

Keywords: olive mill effluents; anaerobic digestion; technoeconomic assessment; sustainability; plant design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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