Evolution of the Olive Oil Industry along the Entire Production Chain and Related Waste Management

Gabriele Di Giacomo and Pietro Romano
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Gabriele Di Giacomo: Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and of Economics (DIIIE), Engineering Headquarters of Roio, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Pietro Romano: Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and of Economics (DIIIE), Engineering Headquarters of Roio, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: The production of olive oil involves the sustainable management of the waste produced along the entire production chain. This review examines the developments regarding cultivation techniques, production technologies, and waste management, highlighting the goals to be achieved and the most reasonable prospects. The results show that cultivation and production technology have evolved to an almost final solution to meet economic feasibility, keeping the oil’s high quality. Continuous horizontal decanters will coexist with traditional mills in many countries with old olive oil production and consumption traditions. High-quality products have conquered markets, especially in the wealthiest countries. At the same time, the exploitation of dried pomace by solvent extraction is increasingly an obsolete practice. However, waste management is still looking for one or a few reasonable solutions that meet modern society’s constraints. The enhancement of some experienced technologies and the full-scale application of emerging technologies and strategies should solve this problem in the short–medium term. A short discussion is reported on the possibility of unifying the nature and the quality of the waste, whatever the olive oil production method is. Furthermore, modern thermochemical treatment for solid wet organic waste disposal is examined and discussed.

Keywords: virgin olive oil; pruning; vegetation water; pomace; pomace oil; disposal of waste; material and energy recovery; hydrothermal carbonization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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