Given the technological advances in the industrial modernization of olive oil extraction from three to two phases, which eliminated the problem of wrought waters and gave rise to a much more moist olive mash, but without any economic value, it is necessary to strengthen the response capacity of this industry to present environmentally sustainable solutions, based on green technology, eco-efficiency and economically viable.

The objective of this project, led by MIRABAGA company, in co-promotion with the technological centers of IPB and MORE Colab, is to evaluate the efficiency in the production of carbonaceous materials developed from olive bagasse, for its subsequent use in wastewater treatment in the same industry, thus allowing the reduction of environmental and social impact of the same, as well as the recovery of the negative economic balance that currently hold the olive oil sector.

• A1: It is intended to produce carbonaceous materials from the by-product of the extractive industry and the optimization and improvement in the pre-industrial production process of biochar in the factory itself.
• A2: It aims to evaluate the carbonaceous materials in the purification of waste water from the industrial process, as well as to evaluate the possible incorporation of this “green” technology for the treatment of washing water in the olive grove and the ecotoxicity assessment in river waters.

The pre-industrial use of activated coals manufactured from bagasse seeks to be an economically viable, low-cost and more environmentally friendly alternative, so that different dissemination activities of the project results are planned in activity 3 and 4, including the construction of a pre-industrial prototype at the factory.

MORE CoLAB leads Task 3 of Activity 2, responsible for the experimental evaluation of low-cost carbonaceous materials, participating in the remaining tasks of the Activity, namely the valorization of wastewater (Task 1), scale-up (Task 2) and toxicity assessment (Task 4).

The BagaÇo+Valor project seeks to meet the needs of the Portuguese oil and bagasse extraction industry, in the current context of loss of financial value of the product (olive/bagasse oil). In this sense, the BagaÇo+Valor project mobilizes the different teams of non-business entities of the I&I System of Portugal, with the objective of investigating and developing new solutions of greater added value in the olive oil extraction industry, namely the production of carbonaceous materials from olive pomace, such as “filters” for the treatment of waste water in the oil industry (ruches and washing).

As a result, it is expected to position the olive oil extraction companies in more competitive sectors, promoting sustainable strategies that enhance in an innovative way the adoption of integrated solutions in the industry itself, where the environmental impact of the process is reduced, through the internalization of environmental costs in the production model.