The Olive Mill Pomace: A Sustainable Biofertilizer to Improve Soil Proprieties and Plant Nutrient Uptake

Although of high economic and nutritional interest, olive oil production activities can have a negative impact on the environment given the large quantities of liquid and solid waste. Therefore, using sustainable development technologies is important to add value to the olive oil production process. This study explores innovative olive oil solid waste recycling solutions, taking into account sustainable waste management options. In particular, the most promising technologies for the production of high-added-value products from olive oil by-products was presented, with a special focus on sustainable non-thermal technologies for the use of olive pomace as a friendly soil bio-fertilizer. While discussing how this organic material application can affect the physicochemical soil properties and plant production, in addition to plant nutrient uptake and mineral bioavailability. The main results of this review discussed and all application factors described indicate that olive pomace is a bio-friendly fertilizer offering a great soil potential improvement. However, further research is needed to optimize the use of this olive solid waste and improve its applicability in soil.