Improlive...
An international project to support the environmental compatibility in olive oil production. In the Mediterranean area approx. 714 000 000 olive trees are cultivated on about 8 450 000 ha. About 95 % of the olive trees cultivated world-wide are growing in this region because the olive tree is not very demanding concerning the climatic conditions. For olive oil production in the Mediterranean area, approx. 20 million tons of fresh water are required and up to 30 million tons of solid-liquid waste (orujo and alpeorujo) arise per year (for comparison, the annual amount of sewage sludge in Germany is 55 million m3; with 5 % dry solid matter content). The olive waste water (alpechín) is heavily polluted by fats, harmful substances and solids. In the production areas the alpechín is usually led to evaporation basins and dried by solar radiation during the summer months.
Within the scope of the project IMPROLIVE ("Improvements of Treatments and Validation of the Liquid-Solid Waste from the Two-Phase Olive Oil Extraction") suitable treatment processes for the waste are developed and tested. More than 20 scientists and engineers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece and Spain closely co-operate. The European Union provides financial support for the project (CT96-1420, FAIR Programme, D.G. XII).
More details about partners and tasks ...