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<pre>The process of extracting oil is completely different from grape
juice. Without going into great technical detail wine comes from grape
juice while olive juice is thrown away. The oil comes from the cells.
The olives have to be smashed down to a cellular level to extract the
oil in a way that is unnecessary for grapes. After that the oil is in
an emulsion with the juice. Oil cannot be extracted from the emulsion
directly and the mash needs to be stirred to separate the oil and the
water. After this the oil can be separated from the water and solids
using a centrifuge or a press but I have doubts whether a wine press
would deliver anywhere near the pressure. Even if it could the real
problem is that the press is only one part of the process and trying to
build a system round a second hand wine press would be an inefficient
way of building an extraction plant.

It is also worth remembering that the whole idea would fall apart if
the press extracted a few percent less oil. Returns from olives are
dependent on extracting the oil to a level where less than 1% is left
in the residues.

Cheers Brian Chatterton.
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