Aplicación de los ultrasonidos de potencia en la etapa de batido de las pastas de aceitunasefecto sobre el rendimiento del proceso y características del aceite producido

Abstract

The aim of the present PhD thesis is the study of the High Power Ultrasounds implementation to enhance the malaxation step of the Virgin Olive Oil elaboration process. In this sense, preliminary works were developed at laboratory scale for the continuous pretreatment of olive paste by High Power Ultrasounds before malaxation. These tests allowed the instantaneous heating of olive paste and the improvement of the oil yield. The High Power Ultrasounds efficiency depended on the fruit characteristics, ultrasounds power and the olive paste flow rate. Regarding to the virgin olive oil quality, negative effects or acceleration of oxidative processes were not detected. Ultrasound treatments gave oil with higher pigments and tocopherols content, whereas the phenolic compounds showed a decrease.