{"id":17243,"date":"2025-03-07T10:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T09:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cener.com\/en\/?p=17243"},"modified":"2025-03-07T10:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T09:32:12","slug":"cener-leads-the-bioole-up-project-which-will-transform-waste-from-the-oil-sector-into-revolutionary-medical-advances-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cener.com\/en\/2025\/03\/07\/cener-leads-the-bioole-up-project-which-will-transform-waste-from-the-oil-sector-into-revolutionary-medical-advances-2\/","title":{"rendered":"CENER leads the bioole-up project, which will transform waste from the oil sector into revolutionary medical advances."},"content":{"rendered":"

CENER<\/a>\"\"<\/a> has recently hosted in its facilities of the Biorefinery and Bioenergy Center BIO2C<\/a> the initial meeting of the R&D&I project BIOOLE-UP, an innovative initiative that will develop a sustainable and efficient biorefinery<\/strong> process from oil wastes, and more specifically, valorizing oil leaves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The National Renewable Energy Center (CENER<\/a>) has recently hosted in its facilities of the Biorefinery and Bioenergy Center BIO2C<\/a> the initial meeting of the R&D&I project BIOOLE-UP, an innovative initiative that will develop a sustainable and efficient biorefinery<\/strong> process from oil wastes, and more specifically, valorizing oil leaves<\/strong>. Thanks to a pioneering technology based on selective cascade extraction, combined with purification methods for extracts and active ingredients<\/strong>, the project will evaluate medical applications in advanced treatments for aggressive cancers and chronic diseases<\/strong> such as those related to diabetes and fatty liver disease.<\/p>\n

The olive oil industry<\/strong> plays a crucial economic and social role in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region, with Spain leading global production, followed by Italy, Greece, and Turkey. The recovery of olive leaves is a key step in producing extra virgin olive oil, as they must be removed before processing the olives. In Spain alone, around 800,000 tons<\/strong> of this byproduct are generated annually. Over time, its valorization has expanded into sectors such as agriculture, energy, food, cosmetics, and medicine<\/strong>. Currently, its main uses include biofuel production, animal feed, and composting, while research is exploring its potential in nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, extracting beneficial compounds remains a challenge<\/strong>, limiting the ability to obtain high concentrations of polyphenols and oleuropein.<\/p>\n

The goal is clear: to develop a biorefinery process rooted in the principles of a circular economy, transforming this low-value byproduct into a high-value resource<\/strong>. Achieving this requires an efficient technical strategy that ensures cost-effective extraction while maximizing the concentration of key compounds.<\/p>\n

Towards a sustainable health future<\/strong><\/p>\n

With this goal in mind, CENER, leveraging its expertise in biorefinery process development and its BIO2C infrastructure, proposes a cascade process to fractionate the main components of olive leaf matrices using steam under controlled conditions<\/strong>. The extracted fractions will be purified using conventional chemical techniques<\/strong> and subsequently evaluated for medical and nutraceutical applications<\/strong> by the University of Navarra and the Miguel Servet Foundation\u2013Navarrabiomed.<\/p>\n

In the framework of the project, CENER will be in charge of carrying out the cascade fractionation of the olive leaf to generate the 4 fractions, which will be evaluated by the other two partners. The fractions to be analyzed are:<\/p>\n