Economic feasibility analysis of the implementation of a high value-added molecule extraction system in an olive oil mill

Abstract

The production of olive oil generates several by-products that can be seen as an additional business opportunity. Among them are the olive pits, already used for heat and/or electricity generation in some mills. They contain compounds that are commercially very interesting and, if recovered, contribute to the sustainability of the olive mills. The work presented in this paper is a preliminary evaluation of the economic feasibility of implementing a system based on a batch prototype with 1 m3 for the extraction of high value-added bioactive molecules from olive pits that are separated during the production of virgin olive oil. For the analysis, a small representative olive mill in Portugal was considered and the traditional Discounted Cash Flow Method was applied. Based on the assumptions made, the simple payback for implementation a system for the extraction of value-added molecules from the olive pits is around 7 years.