OLIVE AND SUNFLOWER-OILS BY NO-PRESS CLOT H MECHANICAL PRESSING - PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND COST-BENEFIT-ANALYSIS

In this work the analytical characteristics of sunflower- and olive-oi ls, mechanically expressed in a novel pilot plant developed by C.A.M.M .A., were compared with those of the corresponding commercial oils. Th e experimental expression yields for clarified sunflower- and olive-oi ls resulted to be 34% and 19% by weight, respectively. The expression sunflower-oil had a pleasant golden yellow colour and no distinctive o dour with all analytical characteristics, except for free fatty acid ( 1.14% as oleic) and total tocopherol content (1583 mug/g), in line wit h literature data. The olive-oil exhibited the typical organoleptic pr operties of fresh extravirgin olive oils with a quite high total tocop herol content (510 mug/g). With reference to a 3-press plant, it was p ossible to evaluate the overall return-on-the investment as a function of the plant working period (80 and 220 days/year) and type of raw ma terials treated (olives and sunflower seeds). By selling the expressio n sunflower-oil at the same price of refined peanut-oil (Lit 1840/kg) and the extravirgin olive-oil at Lit 9000/kg, an overall profitability (PR) of 15.7% might be obtained, this being quite greater than that a chievable when feeding the plant only with olives (PR=5.9%) or sunflow er seeds (PR=1.3%).