Characterization of Some Jordanian Crude and Exhausted Olive Pomace Samples

TLDR: In this paper, a set of specifications for the use and trade of the olive pomace in Jordan, several samples of the crude and laboratory-prepared exhausted (oil-free) olive pomsace have been subjected to a thorough thermochemical characterization.

Abstract: In an attempt to provide a set of specifications for the use and trade of the olive pomace in Jordan, several samples of the crude and laboratory-prepared exhausted (oil-free) olive pomace have been subjected to a thorough thermochemical characterization. Such characterization included determination of fat content by using n-hexane and Soxhlet extractor, ultimate and proximate analyses obtained by using an elemental analyzer and a thermogravimetric procedure, respectively, gross and net calorific values obtained by using adiabatic oxygen bomb calorimetry, mineral content (ash), and analysis of the pyrolysis thermograms in terms of specified temperatures and residual masses associated with such temperatures as obtained under an inert atmosphere of nitrogen gas at a flow rate of 100 ml per min and a heating rate of 20°C per min from room temperature up to 600°C. The properties of both the crude and the exhausted olive pomace were compared. The gross calorific values and the results of the ultimate analyses for the two pomace types were found to correlate very well as indicated by the use of a literature correlation formula usually used for estimating the gross calorific value of a fuel when its ultimate analysis is known. Other literature correlation formulas used for estimating the gross calorific value from the proximate analysis data were also used to check the adequacy of our procedure for getting the proximate analysis from the thermogravimetric pyrolysis thermograms.