Process diagram: Olive oil production

The diagram illustrates how olive oil is produced from olives, in a process that consists of eight stages.

Overall, the process is linear. The olives are harvested and crushed into a paste, the oil is separated from the solids and the water, and it is finally filtered and bottled. The first three stages prepare the olives, the next four extract and refine the oil, and the last stage packages it.

To begin with, olives are shaken from the trees onto nets, and leaves and twigs are then removed during cleaning. The olives are crushed and ground into a paste, which is slowly stirred for 30 minutes in a stage known as malaxing.

After that, the oil is separated from the solids by pressing. Next, in the centrifuge stage, spinning is used to separate the oil from the water.

In the last two stages, any sediment is removed from the oil by filtering. Finally, the oil is stored in tanks, and it is then bottled, so that it is ready for sale.