Olive Pomace .. Alternative Heating Source

HAMA, (ST) – The need and the lack of heating sources because of the current crisis and the difficulty of transporting forced many residents of Hama to use “olive pomace” as an alternative to face the winter season because the price of the material is cheap and it is easy to obtain.

The quantities of pomace, resulting from pressing olives, in the governorate exceeded 40 thousand tons. It is the suitable alternative for heating purposes in such circumstances instead of diesel as well as there is a possibility to convert it to a source of clean power

Pomace contains organic material and has very light proportions of oil. It is quite suitable for burning and if it is compressed and pressed, it does not produce any carbon emissions or emit toxic pollutants, but it is a rich substance in mineral elements.

 “It has become necessary to find ways to re-use this material because of the cheap price, ease of manufacturing, as well as to be used for heating purposes contributes to the reduction of over-logging operations that forests and forestry exposed to in the governorate,” agronomist, Salem Farah, said.

Director of the Olive Bureau in the Department of Forestry in Hama city agronomist, Mazen Tayfour, said that there are 40 olive oil presses working in Hama and huge quantities of pomace in front of the doors of the oil press nearly one thousand ton in each oil press.

Mr. Tayfour said that this material can be pressed and offered to the consumer in cylindrical- small shaped pieces to be sold for heating, pointing out that some studies and experiments confirmed that the burning of one kilogram of pulp produced by the thermal energy is equivalent to burning 1.4 liter of fuel oil.

Mr. Tayfour said that there is a lack of specialized plants to manufacture small cubes of pomace except one north of the village of Umm al Toyour west of Hama city.

The price per ton of this material is estimated at 2500 Syrian pounds as it can be utilized in agricultural operations, fertilizers and heating. The material is cheap and clean compared with wood and fuel oil anddoes not have any odors when operating.

Agronomist, Ahmed Harba, said that the material can be used in various fields as home heating within residential houses by using specialized stoves or for central heating purposes as well as in cooking, heating greenhouses, farms and in the tobacco furnaces.

“Wood compressed panels ,fodder for livestock can be made of this material due to its  richness in organic and mineral materials, explaining that it is better to add it directly in the autumn,  as an organic fertilizer for fruit trees and field crops,” Mr, Harba stressed.

Sh. Kh.