Olive-derived biomass as a source of energy and chemicals

Abstract

Olive trees are cultivated in more than 40 countries worldwide over more than 10 million hectares. In addition to olive oil, a large amount of biomass is produced annually. All this biomass must be adequately handled and disposed of. Conventional disposal methods include direct burning or spreading in fields, but this has economical costs and environmental concerns, as well as wasting a source of energy and chemicals. This review summarizes the most recent proposals for the use of biomass derived from olive tree cultivation and olive oil production processes. Biomass produced from pruning, leaves, olive stones and pomace, extracted olive pomace, and olive waste water are considered, and the main options for processing are reviewed according to recent advances in the literature. The biorefinery concept applied to olive-derived biomass is also presented and representative works are discussed.