Characterization of the lignocellulosic and sugars composition of different olive leaves cultivars

Abstract

Olive leaves are an under valorized residue of olive tree pruning and olive fruit harvesting and that are usually removed by either burning or grinding and scattering them on fields. However, as plant material easily available, they may be used as raw material in biorefineries, or for the industrial manufacture of many diverse products, given their lignocellulosic composition. Like other lignocellulosic biomasses, the composition of olive leaves depends on cultivar and to know it is essential for an adequate use. Therefore, this work tackles a characterization analysis of the lignocellulosic fraction of some olive leaf cultivars, both commercial and wild. In general, the cultivars studied did not show large differences in their quantitative composition, except for the content of ethanolic extractives and cellulose of the commercial and wild cultivars. In addition, the high lignin content (around 15%) is remarkable.

Keywords: Biomass exploitation; Biorefinery; Lignocellulose; Olive leaves; Raw materials; Sugars.