Alfa Oliver 500
The AlfaOliver 500 is a small-scale process module designed for the olive grower who wants to ensure a unique taste and quality profile for his production of extra virgin olive oil.
The AlfaOliver 500 olive oil extraction system is designed to enable olive oil producers to differentiate their extra virgin olive oil from standard products by making the most of each crop’s basic characteristics and intrinsic qualities, and maintaining and enhancing these during production.
The unit combines the most advanced olive oil processing equipment currently available into an integrated, frame mounted system with a compact footprint. The AlfaOliver 500 is the most efficient system currently available for olive oil extraction. Installation is quick and easy – as an effectively ”plug-and- play” unit – and its easy to operate and run.
One of the big advantages of the system is that the process can be customized to meet particular customer needs and requirements. The modular design enables customers to choose freely between different configurations:
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A crushing system configured to comply with your specific needs, with a hammer crusher, disc crusher or a combination of a crushing and depitting machine.
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A malaxing system that either uses the traditional process or protects the olive paste from oxidation by using an inert gas.
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The duration of the malaxing cycles and temperatures for each production batch can be set individually.
The AlfaOliver 500 is a continuous processing line that utilizes all the technical benefits and processing know-how that Alfa Laval has built up in the course of more than a century of experience with olive oil extraction. This results in the combination of high performance, advanced technology and exceptional reliability.
How it works
AlfaOliver
After cleaning to remove dirt and debris, the olives are crushed into olive paste using either hammer or disc crushing. If required, the olives can also be depitted before this milling process, using technology developed by Alfa Laval.
Milling is followed by malaxation, a slow mixing in which the olive paste is gradually heated and the enzymes activated. This allows the small drops of oil to coalesce. Microscopic oil droplets join together into larger ones that are then extracted using a decanter centrifuge. This separates the oil from the humid pomace.
The last main stage is clarification, in which any remaining water and olive residue is removed from the oil using a centrifuge. Using an AlfaOliver 500 installation, the grower has complete flexibility for processing each batch and each harvest, with a free choice between standard mass-production olive oil and a customized processing sequence that results in a unique oil that commands a higher price.