Valorisation of olive mill effluentsby recovering high added value bio-products

RE-WASTE: a demonstrative project for the valorization of olive oil industry by-products

Elena DE MARCO CRIOL - Industria Olearia Biagio Mataluni srl (Italy)

criol@mataluni.comwww.re-wasteproject.it

OLIVE MILL WASTEWATER

Olive mill wastewater(3 phases)

Limits for the discharge in the sewage system

pH 4-5 5.5-9.5

COD 45.000-220.000 mg l-1 500 mg l-1

BOD5 35.000-100.000 mg l-1 250 mg l-1

Phenols 3000-10000 mg l-1 1 mg l-1

the problemthe problem

High concentration in compounds recalcitrant to the biologicaldegradation: lignin, tannins, long chain fatty acids and phenoliccompounds.

Difficult biological degradation.

Lack of treatment processes technically and economically sustainable.

Several physical, chemical and biological processes have been tested forthe treatment of olive mill wastewater, such as evaporation, sedimentation, filtration, centrifugation, composting, anaerobicaldigestion, oxidation, but none of them proved able to reduce the organicload and the toxicity of the effluent to accptable levels.

OLIVE MILL WASTEWATER

the problemthe problem

Lack of appropriate technologies for the treatment of olive mill wastewater

The majority of olive mill wastewater in the Mediterranean basin is discharged directly in the sewage system or in watercourses or concentrated in basins or spread on the soilwithout control

Problems of phytotoxicity, bad odors, proliferationof insects, contamination of the groundwater, increase of the soil salinity and reduction of the soil permeability

The most diffused solution is: spreading on agricultural soil

Logistic difficultiesDifficulties to find suitable soilsConjuction with the most rainy periodof the year

Treatment witheco-sustainable technologies

SOURCE OF NATURAL COMPOUNDS WITH

BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

WASTE TO BE DISPOSED OF

BIOACTIVITY HYDROXYTYROSOL VERBASCOSIDE OLEUROPEIN RUTIN CAFFEIC ACID

Antioxidant

Cardioprotective

Antiatherogenic

Chemopreventive

Antimicrobial

Anti-inflammatory

Skin bleaching

Antihypertensive

FENILALCOLI E DERIVATI FENILALCOLI E DERIVATI ((idrossitirosoloidrossitirosolo, , tirosolotirosolo, , idrossitirosoloidrossitirosolo glucoside,glucoside,……))

FLAVONOIDIFLAVONOIDI

(Rutina, luteolina 7(Rutina, luteolina 7--glucosideglucoside…….).)

ACIDI CINNAMICI E FENIL PROPANOIDI ACIDI CINNAMICI E FENIL PROPANOIDI DERIVATIDERIVATI(Acido (Acido caffeicocaffeico, acido p, acido p--cumarico, cumarico, verbascosideverbascoside, , bb--

idrossiacteosideidrossiacteoside,,……))

SECOIRIDOIDI DERIVATISECOIRIDOIDI DERIVATI((oleuropeinaoleuropeina, esteri del , esteri del secologanosidesecologanoside,,……))

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Detector A Ch2:320nm Detector A Ch1:279nm

FENILALCOLI E DERIVATI FENILALCOLI E DERIVATI ((idrossitirosoloidrossitirosolo, , tirosolotirosolo, , idrossitirosoloidrossitirosolo glucoside,glucoside,……))

FLAVONOIDIFLAVONOIDI

(Rutina, luteolina 7(Rutina, luteolina 7--glucosideglucoside…….).)

ACIDI CINNAMICI E FENIL PROPANOIDI ACIDI CINNAMICI E FENIL PROPANOIDI DERIVATIDERIVATI(Acido (Acido caffeicocaffeico, acido p, acido p--cumarico, cumarico, verbascosideverbascoside, , bb--

idrossiacteosideidrossiacteoside,,……))

SECOIRIDOIDI DERIVATISECOIRIDOIDI DERIVATI((oleuropeinaoleuropeina, esteri del , esteri del secologanosidesecologanoside,,……))

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mV

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Detector A Ch2:320nm Detector A Ch1:279nm

Olive mill wastewater: source of phenoli compoundswith biological activity

Oleifici Mataluni are among the biggest oil industrial complexes in the world.

The industrial factory comprises all the phases of the production process: olive oil mill, refinery, packaging in glass, PET and tinplate, production of PET bottles, closures, cardboardboxes and labels.

With about 200 employees, a modern factory which cover 160.000 m2, tri-generation and photovoltaic plants, a quality control laboratory and a research centre, it is among the mainproducers of food oils at international level.

The CRIOL was funded in 2004. The idea comesfrom the R&D needs of Oleifici Mataluni and fromthe collaboration with Department of Food Scienceof University of Naples Federico II.

The Research Centre for Olive Oil Industry(CRIOL) of Oleifici Mataluni

PackagingPackaging Valorization of by-products

Valorization of by-products Functional oilsFunctional oilsInteraction

oil-foodInteraction

oil-foodTraining and disseminationTraining and dissemination

Oil nutritionaland sensoryproperties

Oil nutritionaland sensoryproperties

The research lines of the CRIOL

PILOT PLANT OF MEMBRANE TANGENTIAL FILTRATION

Project“Quality Control and Technological

Innovation in the Oil Industry”2005-2008

(financed by the Italian Ministry of University and Research)

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico IIDipartimento di Scienza degli Alimenti

Università degli Studi di FirenzeDipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche

CMF CUF COI

POI

6 %6 %

MF UF OI

AVAV1075 L

67 L 78 L 135 L

795 L

7 %7 % 13 %13 %

74 %74 %CMF CUF COI

POI

6 %6 %

MF UF OI

AVAV1075 L

67 L 78 L 135 L

795 L

7 %7 % 13 %13 %

74 %74 %CMF CUF COI

POI

7 %7 %

MF UF OI

AVAV428 g

28 g 10 g 374 g

6 g

2 %2 % 87 %87 %

1 %1 %

Recovery of water Recovery of biophenols

Phenolicfraction

Olive millwastewater

Purifiedwater

Re-use in industrial processes

Powder phenolicextract

Functionalfood

LIFE Plus: the Financial Instrument for the Environment

The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updatingand development of EU environmental policy and legislation by co-financingpilot or demonstration projects with European added value.

demonstrative projectsdiffusion of the results – dissemination activities

Research and experimental development

Application of the results on real scale

The current phase of the programme, LIFE+, runs from 2007-2013 and hasa budget of € 2.143 billion. The legal basis for LIFE+ is the Regulation (EC) No 614/2007.

During the period 2007-2013, the European Commissionwill launch one call for LIFE+ project proposals per year.

Programme’s three components:

1. LIFE+ “Nature and Biodiversity”

2. LIFE+ “Environment Policy and Governance”

3. LIFE+ “Information and Communication”

LIFE+ “Environment Policy and Governance”

Innovation: climate change

water

air

soil

urban environment

noise

chemicals

environment and health

natural resources and wastes

It will co-finance innovative or pilot projects that contribute to the implementation of European environmental policy and the developmentof innovative policy ideas, technologies, methods and instruments. It willalso help monitor pressures on our environment.

a. technological innovation

b. Innovation in processes and methods,

c. economic and commercial innovation

Main areas:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/lifeplus.htm

Project RE-WASTE«Recovery, recycling, resource.

Valorisation of olive mill effluentsby recovering high added value bio-products»

January 2009 - June 2012

Industria Olearia Biagio Mataluni s.r.l.

Euroimpresa S.p.A.

Parco Scientifico e Tecnologico di Salerno e delle Aree Interne della Campania

Centro Tecnológico Nacional de la Conserva y Alimentación(Murcia, Spagna)

PROJECT PARTNERS

Show to Italian and European olive oil industry operators, by means of a demonstration plant, an innovative and clean technology to dispose and valorise olive mill effluents, in the respect of the existing environmental laws and with economic profit;

Disseminate among olive oil industry operators and public bodies the concept that olive mill wastewaters may be seen as a valuable source of natural molecules with biological activity, of alternative energy (biogas) and water;

Promote the high added value natural extracts with biological activity, obtained from OMWW treatment, among all the possible users (food, cosmetic and animal feed industries);

Make known to olive oil industry operators the economic budget of the process;

Transfer know-how from researchers to industry operators, in order to enable olive industries to apply the proposed technology;

Evaluate the possibility to use the proposed technology to treat other agro-industrial wastes in order to eliminate their polluting load and recover from them high added value bio-molecules.

OBJECTIVES:OBJECTIVES:

; ;

DEMONSTRATIVE PLANTDEMONSTRATIVE PLANTPre-treatment (flocculation, centrifugation, filtration);Membrane tangential filtration (ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis);Purification of the phenolic extracts on adsorbent resin;Anaerobic digestion.

Olive mill wastewater

Purified water Phenolic antioxidant extracts Biogas

PRE-TREATMENT

OMWW

MEMBRANE UNITS

ORGANIC FRACTIONS WITHOUT PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS PURIFIED WATER

PURIFICATION BY CHROMATOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUESANAEROBIC DIGESTION

BIOGAS PHENOLIC EXTRACTS

CONCENTRATE FRACTIONS RICHIN PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS

2009

Design of the demonstrativeplant

2010

Installation of the plant

2010/2011

The first experimentalcampaign

Control of the process effectivenessControl of the process effectiveness

Characterization of the initial olive mill wastewater (COD, phenolic

compounds, solids, oil content);

Effectiveness of the pre-treatment in removing oil and solids;

Recovery of water;

Characterization of the purified water;

Characterization of the phenolic extracts;

Consumption of chemicals.

Direct  benefits  (selling  price  of  the  products obtained,  production  of  biogas)  and  indirect benefits  (recovery of water,  costs avoided  for the disposal of the olive mill effluents).

Direct  benefits  (selling  price  of  the  products obtained,  production  of  biogas)  and  indirect benefits  (recovery of water,  costs avoided  for the disposal of the olive mill effluents).

Direct  and  indirect  costs  of  the  process  (plant depreciation,  consumption  of  energy, chemicals,  membranes,  adsorbent  polymer, employment of personnel, …).

Direct  and  indirect  costs  of  the  process  (plant depreciation,  consumption  of  energy, chemicals,  membranes,  adsorbent  polymer, employment of personnel, …).

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSISCOST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

in progress …

2011

Demonstration of the technologyand dissemination of the results

2011

Demonstration of the technologyand dissemination of the results

Dissemination of the project in SpainDissemination of the project in Spain• Publications

• Meetings

• Seminars

www.re-wasteproject.itwww.re-wasteproject.it

Project brochures

Downloadable from the project website