upCYCLling pOlyPhenols from waSte

ongoing

Background. Olive oil production is one of the most important industrial sectors in the economy of Mediterranean countries where, in recent years, it is steadily increasing. During olive oil production, different wastes are generated, one of the main ones being alpeorujo, a high moisture content mixture of vegetation water, solid parts of the olive and fatty residues. Due to its composition and polyphenols content, dumpling and storage of this waste can cause problems as it is highly polluting. Current management options are running out due to processing capacity and do not achieve waste circularity, pointing to the pressing the need for an improved management model. Objectives. The overall objective of LIFE CYCLOPS is to demonstrate technically and economically a sustainable, circular economy and zero-waste solution to manage olive oil waste through the recovery and valorisation of polyphenols as well as of the de-phenolised waste. Recovered polyphenols will become high added-value products for food (oil and wine), nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Additionally, specific polyphenols with be targeted for further purification and adaptation to other end-users’ requirements. The remaining de-phenolised waste will be co-digested in existing anaerobic digestion infrastructure to significantly enhance biogas production and the generation of a digestate with optimal quality for land application, closing the cycle and achieving zero waste. The site. The LIFE CYCLOPS solution will be validated at pilot scale (from TRL 6 to TRL 8) in the facilities owned by the oil company BORGES. A replication of the solution will be carried out in a winery site managed by UNIO. The consortium: CETaqua, Spain – coordinator BORGES, Spain – site owner and first end-user (olive oil sector) CSIC, Spain – research partner AQUATEC, Spain – business partner UNIÓ, Spain – site owner and transfer end-user (wine sector) UNIÓ Nuts, Spain - innovation and marketing expert in wine sector ACES, Spain – business partner