The Life Cycle Assessment of the new natural products from Olea europaea L. matrices

Abstract In this work, a Life Cycle Assessment of sustainable extractive technology by membrane separation methods has been applied on Olea europaea L. matrices (olive oil by-products, leaves, stems and olive pulps) to obtain different commercial extracts, for different market uses, in cosmetic and functional food products. The treatment process consists in the Olea europaea L. matrices selective fractionation in five steps: the physico-chemical pre-treatment with enzymes and acidifying substances; the Microfiltration; the Ultrafiltration; the Nanofiltration and the Reverse Osmosis. During these steps different product and co-product with an economic value can be obtain. The LCA methodology is applied to show the added value arising from the use of the Best Available Techniques as well as the tangential flow membrane technologies, and to measure the potential environmental impact in terms of human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, depletion of resources and costs, for the implementation of a Life Cycle Management system and strategy.