Process and equipment for producing olive charcoal.

Olive is a common economic plant, mainly used to produce olive oil and table olives. Globally, the olive tree is planted on more than 15 million hectares, about 80% of these trees are located in the Mediterranean region, and olives are the cornerstone of the agricultural economy and sustainable development of some of these countries. The production of olive oil produces large quantities of pomace, which can be made into green olive charcoal. Others such as olive wood and olive stones can also be used as raw materials for the production of charcoal. These ingredients are cheap and readily available in areas where olives are grown.

Below we briefly introduce the process and machines for making charcoal from different olive raw materials.

Natural olive wood charcoal and olive pit charcoal

Olive trees in olive plantations need to be pruned annually to improve their metabolism, stimulate fruit tree growth, and enhance the production of high-quality fruits. As a result, there is a considerable accumulation of olive branches and aged wood sources. Olive wood is highly dense, solid, and hard, making it an excellent raw material for charcoal production. These olive woods can be directly carbonized in a carbonization furnace to create natural charcoal.

Olive pomace charcoal

Olive pomace is a by-product obtained after extracting pulp oil from fresh olives through cold-pressing methods. It is estimated that around 350-400 kg of pomace is generated per ton of fresh olives during the oil extraction process. Typically, olive pomace is treated as fertilizer or fuel, or simply discarded as waste. However, these methods not only contribute to environmental pollution but also overlook the potential value of this resource. One proven approach to utilize olive pomace is by carbonizing it into olive pomace charcoal, which can then be used to produce charcoal briquettes. This process not only helps in waste management but also maximizes the utilization of this resource.