OPS have significant potential for use in various environmental applications. In addition to nanoparticles, our technology enables the production of biogas exclusively from these byproducts.
Olive pomace is a byproduct of olive oil production at the mill, obtained through the centrifugation process of the olives. Its composition is derived from parts of the olives, as well as from the remains of the olive oil. It has a more solid part, the pomace, and a slightly more liquid part, the vegetable water.
Its properties include a high water content of 56%. It also has a pH of 5.4 and is acidic. Organic matter is also a key component, rising by 91%.
Spain is the world’s leading producer and exporter of olive oil, with approximately 2.5 million hectares of olive oil under cultivation. For this reason, the treatment of olive pomace and vegetable water is key to the oil-production process.
The pomace oil producers plants are responsible for valorizing all the by-products generated in the olive oil mills.
These are based on the marketing of crude olive pomace oil and biomasses: olive pits and mainly olive pomace.
The current capacity of the olive pomace reception ponds, which are constantly being adapted and expanded, and of the 63 olive pomace processing plants together, is estimated at 6.3 million tons. These sites receive olive pomace continuously throughout the four months of the olive oil production season.
It is clear that olive pomace processing is an important link in the olive oil sector’s value chain, as it allows for the valorization of by-products from the process, which would otherwise be costly for the olive mills and detrimental to the environment.
Solve the problem of olive pomace accumulation by providing a recurring outlet for the waste through an innovative method.
Thanks to our technology, we are able to produce biogas exclusively from olive pomace and vegetable water, without the need for other substrates.
The use of olive pomace with the addition of OPS will allow us to transform what is currently a management cost into operational cost savings.
The addition of OPS to the process will, on the one hand, increase production, obtaining greater quantities and quality of energy for the operation of machinery and/or injection into the electrical grid. On the other hand, it would help the plant establish biogas as a reliable energy source. All this is due to the fact that biogas production would be more consistent and homogeneous, in addition to being of higher quality and maximizing its production.
We develop nanotechnology solutions to improve the efficiency of converting waste into renewable energy, contributing to the decarbonization of the energy sector.
According to ANEO (National Association of Olive Pomace Oil Companies), Spain’s average olive production is 6.6 million tons, of which 1.4 million tons of oil are extracted, resulting in a total of just under 6.0 million tons of wet olive oil per season on average. This volume is very similar to the 6.3 million tons of reception, drying, and extraction capacity of the olive oil processing sector. In other words, simply on average, the olive oil processing sector does not have excess capacity to process all the product supplied by the fields and extracted by the oil mills.
Its properties include a high water content of 56%. It also has an acidic pH of 5.4. Organic matter is also a key component, rising by 91%.
This was particularly noticeable in the 18/19 campaign, the largest in Spain’s history, where just over 10.5 million tons of alperujo were produced. A total of 3.3 million tons remained unprocessed, moving from one campaign to the next, and are being processed during the current campaign.
On the other hand, the average national production of pomace is 1.3 million tons per campaign, and its marketing is a fundamental pillar for the profitability of olive oil producers. The study of the value chain of the olive oil sector conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture established that 40% of olive oil producers’ income came from the sale of pomace. In the 2011/2012 campaign, the price of pomace was €45/tonne at the factory gate, while in the 2017/2018 campaign and the previous one, 2018/2019, the price of pomace at the factory gate was between €12-15/tonne.
Thanks to Smallops, this overproduction of olive oil will be addressed, allowing for increased processing and generating new revenue streams that will help sustain the profitability of the olive oil processing plants.
On the one hand, the olive oil currently accumulating will be disposed of, giving the residue a second life by creating OPS through the use of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) techniques. And, on the other hand, these nanoparticles will be used to generate biogas from olive oil.
In this way, at Smallops, we are fighting climate change by producing green energy and a sustainable, highly innovative, high-value-added product from olive pomace and vegetable water.
And all based on a zero-waste circular bioeconomy model!
If you’re interested in trying our product, contact us. We’ll answer all your questions and provide you with all the information you need.
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