Application Of Microwaves and Megasound to Olive Paste in an Industrial Olive Oil Extraction Plant: Impact on Virgin Olive Oil Quality and Composition

Traditional olive oil processing includes batch olive paste kneading for 30-60min. Microwave (MW) treatment of the olive paste have recently shown to continuously provide faster conditioning, while megasound (MS) treatment have been shown to enhance oil extractability. In the present work the virgin olive oil standard parameters, sensory descriptors, and phenolic and headspace composition upon treatment of oils obtained using novel process enhancement interventions, and their combination in an industrial plant is examined. Standard parameters are within the international specifications. The Control and MW process provide similar phenolic composition but a post MS intervention significantly increased total phenolic content, and decrease total C5 and C6 aldehydes in the MW treated paste. These results encourage further developments for a combined continuous MW and megasonic conditioning technology to fasten the olive oil extraction, to enhance yields, and total phenolic content. Practical Applications: Microwave and megasounds are two technologies easily implementable on industrial olive oil extraction plant. They permit to simplify the entire plant and could replace totally the malaxers section. This new technology allows having a uniform paste treatment in continuous mode, enhancing the olive oil quality. Microwaves and megasonics machine are employed to conditioning the olive paste. Chemical analyses on obtained oils, compared to the traditional technology, show that the new technologies allow producing good quality oils. These results encourage further developments for a combined continuous microwave and megasonic conditioning technology to fasten the olive oil extraction, to enhance yields, and total phenolic content.