EnergyPulse Systems is starting project Phenoils, a European project to achieve healthier virgin olive oil extraction
EnergyPulse Systems will work throughout 2020 on the project Phenoils, in which will study the implementation of new processing technologies in mills for a healthier virgin olive oil extraction. This R&D project has been awarded by the EIT Food, as an EIT Regional Innovation Scheme Challenge.
Besides EnergyPulse Systems, the project Phenoils has the contribution of other partners of the EIT Food: Acesur (project leader), Instituto de la Grasa (CSIC), Fraunhofer Technology Centre and University of Turin.
One of the main goals of this project is to increase the presence of compounds such as tocopherols, polyphenols and other bioactive compounds in virgin olive oil that have a proven positive effect on cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome, using new extraction technologies in mill (hydrodynamic cavitation, ultrasound and pulsed electric fields technology (PEF)).
The influence of these new technologies and the evolution of the content of minor compounds over the life of virgin olive oils will also be studied. To this end, several SMEs have been involved in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, where the production of virgin olive oil is very relevant to their economies.
This is a two-year project and EnergyPulse Systems, together with the other partners of this consortium, will show the advantage of a pre-treatment by PEF on the industrial efficiency and final product quality for a healthier, premium virgin olive oil. In addition, educational programs will be carried out in benefit of producers and students from participating countries.
