Introduction

The invention relates to the processing of stone of olives used for olive oil production.

In oil mills, the machines used for the preparation of pastes to be sent for oil extraction (mills or crushers) process whole olives, consequently also crushing the stones. Thus, in the malaxing phase, this gives rise to lipolytic and peroxidative enzymatic activities within the extract oils; reducing the stability and shelf life of the final product. The preventive removal of pits from olives, allows to extract oils of pulp only, of higher stability and nutraceutical characteristics; and greater market value. The pitting machines currently on the market operate the separation of the pulps from the pits by centrifugal projection of the drupe on metal grids.

The patented innovation consists in a combined action of constriction and mutual abrasion of drupe at low-speed, to separate the pulp from the pits, obtaining olive pastes with better rheological characteristics, which facilitate the subsequent oil extraction steps.

Technical features

From the milling of pitted olives comes oils of greater stability and better nutraceutical and sensory characteristics, compared to the oils obtained from the milling of whole olives.

The pitting systems of oil olives separate the pits from the pulps by percussion and centrifugal projection, penalizing the rheological characteristics of olive pastes and the yields of the subsequent steps of oil extraction.

The patented invention separates the olive pulps from their respective pits, acting by compression, abrasion and extrusion at low speed. The pitting machine is equipped with a working chamber of obliged path and decreasing volume, in which the relative motion between the machine bodies determines the separation of the pulps from their pits. The pulps are then extruded through special calibrated holes in the base of the machine body, while the pits are conveyed and ejected through a peripheral window of the machine body.

The whole pits also represents a second raw material in other market chains (pharmaceutical, cosmetic, energetic).

Possible Applications

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil industry;
• Other stone fruit pulp and/or juice industries.

Advantages

• Production of pitted olive pastes with better rheological characteristics than those obtained by centrifugal machines;
• Optimization of the subsequent extraction phases yields;
• Recovery of intact stones as a second raw material for further market chains (energetic, cosmetic, pharmacological).