Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-03-11

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Ways to exploit precious polyphenols from olive treatment waste being sought

[01] Ways to exploit precious polyphenols from olive treatment waste being sought

Today, synthetic polyphenols are used widely as food additives but have been found to cause side-effects, which has turned the food industry to natural polyphenols, the price of which could reach 3,000 euro per kilo, depending on the quality.

Given the high phytotoxicity of the waste remaining after processing at oil press facilities, which are usually dumped in ravines, gullies and isolated areas, the scientific interest gives potential for the maximum possible exploitation of the precious components of the waste from olive processing and minimizing the environmental impact.amna

In that direction, the ongoing collaboration between the Institute of Chemical Reactions and Energy Resources (IDEP) of the National Centre for Research and Technological Development (EKEETA) with table olive processing companies, has been enhanced with a collaboration with companies involved in the energy exploitation of biomass and waste, and olive kernel oil production, aiming at an integrated management of olive press waste.amna

Using innovative methods, IDEP is seeking to extract the very useful polyphenols from the waste and produce components that may be added to animal feed (due to their high content in fat and oily substances), and even use residue from olive oil, biomass for burning, and clean water for irrigation, IDEP Natural Resources and Alternate Forms of Energy Laboratory (EFEM) director Prof. Anastasios Karambelas told AMNA.

He further said that under this integrated planning, no burden on the environment will arise from the waste, even from the non-exploitable biomass that will remain after burning, while the energy produced will be used to power the olive processing units themselves.

The ultimate target is to generate commercially exploitable products with great value on the market but with minimum environmental impact, thus solving a long-standing problem of the waste.amna

Laboratory testing has already managed to concentrate polyphenols into a commercial form, while the next step will be to use the result in a pilot unit.

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