A new project is turning waste from Europe’s olive mills into sustainable bioplastics, clean energy and plant-boosting compounds. OLinWASTE brings together nine partners from across the continent, with the University of Surrey playing a key role in optimising biorefinery operations.
As the world’s largest producer of olive oil, the EU faces a significant environmental challenge in managing the vast volumes of waste generated in production. Known as olive mill waste (OMW), this includes pomace, stones and leaves. Improper disposal can lead to soil degradation, water pollution and damage to local ecosystems.
Running for four years with almost €4 million in funding from Horizon Europe, the project will create a fully integrated, zero-emission biorefinery to convert this waste into valuable bioproducts, including bioplastics, biofertilizers, biopesticides, plant bio-immunostimulants and bioenergy. The biorefinery will use green chemistry and microbial processes to recover resources while minimising emissions, noise and odours.
The University of Surrey’s contribution is to design and implement the System Digital Twin (SDT) – a virtual model of the biorefinery’s waste treatment and energy flows. Researchers will input data from other parts of the project and use machine learning, validated against real-world experiments and physics-based models, to ensure accuracy.
Once built, the SDT will enable the team to simulate the biorefinery’s operations and deliver continuous optimisation, making the plant more efficient, cost-effective, and reducing its carbon footprint.
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