Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n.100, Catania 95123, Italy.
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n.100, Catania 95123, Italy.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Oct 1;945:173977. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173977. Epub 2024 Jun 14.
This study was conceived with the aim of exploring applications of the circular economy (CE) principles in the olive oil sector, with the lens of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). To that end, the authors performed a systematic literature review (SLR), from a pre-determined set of keywords that were searched for in the two most comprehensive databases of peer-reviewed journals, namely Scopus and Web-of-Science. From the screening process provided by the PRISMA model, a total of fifteen papers were selected that formed the final review sample, most of which included research on production systems in the Mediterranean region. To facilitate a comparative analysis of the findings from those studies, the latter were grouped into clusters, considering their characteristics and methodological approaches. Five articles were classified as dealing with 'closed-loop' systems wherein the resources from the valorisation of by-products were reintegrated into the same production system. The remaining articles were categorised as related to 'open loop' systems since by-products were utilised in processes and systems outside olive oil production. Notably, the 'closed-loop' systems showed the best LCA outcomes. Identified hotspots within the sector included the agricultural and packaging phases. Although comparing LCA applications is challenging due to the inherent nature of the method and researcher autonomy in selecting basic characteristics, valuable best practices emerged from the analysis of the current state of the art. These practices included valorisation of olive pomace (OP) by converting it into biogas to meet the energy needs of the system processes themselves, the collection of waste cooking oil to convert it into biodiesel, and the use of organic farming techniques in olive production. OP oil extraction emerged as a widespread practice enhancing system sustainability. Moreover, increasing industrial symbiosis by promoting proximity amongst plants was documented by this SLR to be a key factor in strengthening system sustainability.
本研究旨在探讨循环经济（CE）原则在橄榄油行业的应用，采用生命周期评估（LCA）的方法。为此，作者进行了一项系统文献综述（SLR），使用预先确定的一组关键词在两个最全面的同行评议期刊数据库 Scopus 和 Web-of-Science 中进行搜索。根据 PRISMA 模型提供的筛选过程，共选择了 15 篇论文作为最终的综述样本，其中大多数论文都包括对地中海地区生产系统的研究。为了便于对这些研究的发现进行比较分析，根据其特征和方法学方法将后者分为若干组。有 5 篇文章被归类为处理“闭环”系统，其中副产物的资源通过增值被重新整合到同一生产系统中。其余的文章被归类为与“开环”系统相关，因为副产物被用于橄榄油生产以外的过程和系统中。值得注意的是，“闭环”系统显示出了最好的 LCA 结果。该行业内的热点问题包括农业和包装阶段。尽管由于方法的固有性质和研究人员在选择基本特征方面的自主权，比较 LCA 应用具有挑战性，但从对当前技术状况的分析中出现了有价值的最佳实践。这些实践包括通过将橄榄渣（OP）转化为沼气来满足系统过程自身的能源需求，对废食用油进行收集以将其转化为生物柴油，以及在橄榄生产中采用有机农业技术来实现 OP 的增值。OP 油提取作为一种提高系统可持续性的普遍做法得到了广泛应用。此外，通过促进工厂之间的接近度来增加工业共生，被本 SLR 记录为增强系统可持续性的关键因素。
