Use of ultrasonics for the composition assessment of olive mill wastewater (alpechin)
2004
Benedito, J. | Mulet, A. | Clemente, G. | Garcia-Perez, J.V.
In the olive oil extraction process, a waste (alpechin) containing water, oil and other solids is generated. In this paper the feasibility of using ultrasonics for assessing the composition of oil mill wastewater was studied to allow a better control of the extraction process. The ultrasonic velocity was measured in water, oil and alpechin from 6 to 50°C. Two semi-empirical equations were considered to assess the composition of oil, water and protein and other components. Both methods showed coefficients of determination higher than 0.97 for the water and oil content assessment. Poorer percentages were found for the content of protein and other components. The results obtained show the feasibility of measuring the composition of alpechin using ultrasonics through monitoring the extraction process in-line, so that the oil losses could be calculated and the process adjusted and stopped in case any problem is detected. By knowing the oil and content of protein and other components, ultrasound could be used to estimate the organic load of the alpechin.
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