How a Sustainable and Ecological Source of Electric Power Might Be Attained - With Focus on Olive Biomass Fieldwork in Spain

We conducted fieldwork at a biomass waste processing factory in Andalusia, industrial complex Sedebisa in Puente Genil, Spain in order to investigate how the olive waste was used for ecological purposes. Andalusia is the largest producer of olive fruit in the world. Olive oil is produced by pressing the fruit, which leaves a pomace of crushed pits and flesh, or what we call olive waste. The disposal of olive waste has created some environmental concerns as it was discharged into rivers directly, creating a high level of organic load. Additionally, pruning is necessary for growing olive trees, however the pruned leaves and branches were typically burned releasing smoke and polluting particles into the atmosphere. The company introduced in this paper, Sacyr Industrial, addresses these concerns with their newly developed olive waste management system. They purchase olive waste from neighboring olive farmers or olive mills. They produce and sell second olive oil, olive pellets, and electricity by burning the olive waste. This production creates additional benefits for the olive farmers and people living in Andalusia. This activity is an excellent example of local production of fuel for local consumption. This paper will briefly introduce the olive farming, explain the working flow of the olive biomass factory, and discuss the merits of biomass usage.