Olive oil processing wastes production and their characteristics in relation to olive oil extraction methods

The quantity and characteristics of olive-mill wastewater as well the solid residues depend mainly on olive oil extraction process. The present paper deals with the characterization of liquid and solid wastes generated from the three existing extraction processes: the old press extraction process, the conventional continuous centrifugation 3-phase process and the recently new continuous centrifugation 2-phase process. Also the mass balance of each process is presented as well an evaluation of the environmental impact of the 2-phase process.