The disposal of the vegetation water resulting from olive oil milling operations is a serious problem for this industry. The phytotoxicity and difficult biological decomposition of Olive Oil Mill Wastewater (OMWW) is caused by its high content of phenolic compounds. Nevertheless, those compounds are also rich of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic, antiviral and anti-carcinogenic features and for this reason, they are considered precious in the food and make-up industry. STC conducted several R&D activities in this field and, in 2006, the company supplied the design and engineering of the biggest and most innovative Vegetation Water Treatment plant around the World, able to recover purified water to be re-used in the industrial process (i.e. for the olive washing pre-treatment), Antioxidant phenolic compounds to be used within the cosmetic, food or phytotherapy industries and fermentation sludge to be easily disposed of. The client company is located in Agadir (Morocco) and is one of the most important Oil Producers in the Mediterranean area. In order to protect this revolutionary technology, STC promptly published a patent - n. EP07425606 - about an innovative and clean process for the treatment and the recovery of humid pomace produced by two-phase oil mills.
