The Life Solieva project, coordinated by the Eurecat technology centre, has developed and validated groundbreaking technology to recover and recycle compounds in the brine generated by the table olive production process, yielding high added-value products for the food industry in the circular economy.
This cutting-edge process has been tested in a pilot plant at the OLEAND cooperative and involves two stages. The first draws on membrane technology to produce an effluent with a high concentration of polyphenols which can be recovered in the form of an extract for use in functional food formulation. Secondly, another saline effluent is generated which can be reused again in the production process or treated in advanced evaporation ponds to achieve zero liquid discharge.
Sandra Meca, Life Solieva project coordinator and head of the Waste and Circular Economy Unit at Eurecat, underlines the importance of this pilot project “for the table olive industry due to the environmental problems involved in a sector which generates around 0.5 litres of wastewater per kilogram of olives produced, and which in economic terms accounts for 71 percent of EU production.”
Life Solieva “improves resource efficiency in the table olive industry because this new technology makes it possible to recover and reuse 30 percent of the salts contained in the brine, 60 percent of the water and up to 42 percent of the polyphenols with great antioxidant power and which are extremely valuable for the agri-food industry,” she says. In economic terms, “marketing the polyphenol-rich extract makes this treatment economically viable and the business is even expected to turn a profit as it will be used for formulating functional foods such as sauces, creams or even biscuits.”
However, “there are still some challenges ahead for the final implementation of the Solieva project,” points out Frederic Clarens, director of Eurecat’s Waste, Energy and Environmental Impact Unit. This is because “reusing the salts and water in the industry has to be signed off by the authorities” while “polyphenols recovered in the food sector also need to be approved as an additive by the European Commission and assessed by the European Food Safety Agency.” He adds that “the project’s results will feed into progress on these issues with a view to updating the legal framework.”
As part of the project this technology will be transferred to other major table olive producing countries such as Greece and Italy. It can also be rolled out in other European agri-food industries including canning.
The research has been co-financed with €1.2 million from the European Union under the LIFE+ Programme. In addition to Eurecat, Citoliva, the National Technological Centre for the Food and Canning Industry (CTNC), OLEAND, Técnica y Proyectos S.A. and the Panhellenic Association of Table Olives Processors Packers & Exporters (PEMETE) are also taking part.
