Energy and Buildings 62 (2013) 507–513

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Energy and Buildings

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Use of olive stone as an additive in cement lime mortar to improve

thermal insulation
F. Barreca ∗ , C.R. Fichera
Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The process of olive oil extraction produces olive stone, a residue which cause considerable problems of
Received 16 August 2012 disposal.
Received in revised form 2 March 2013 This paper proposes and analyzes an original use of olive stone in order to improve the heat insulation
Accepted 19 March 2013
performances of cement lime mortar and reduce its final density. To this purpose, the paper illustrates a
set of small-scale tests, which were conducted on specimens of cement lime mortar mixed with different
Keywords:
percentages of olive stone, in compliance with the protocols ISO. These tests allowed to evaluate the
Agro-industrial waste
relations between thermal conductance, density and water absorption per each percentage of olive stone.
Building insulation
Measurement of thermal resistance
It was observed that adding 70% of dry weight of olive stone allowed to reduce the average thermal
Mortar admixtures conductance of cement lime mortar by over 76% and its density by around 30%.
Olive stone Furthermore, tests highlighted that the decrease in thermal conductance, which was related to the
Sustainable building materials increase in the percentage of added olive stone, is greater than the decrease in density. In order for the
Thermal insulation tests to be carried out, a prototype of portable measuring system was developed, which was based on
the measurement of heat flow and allowed to obtain average thermal conductance values with average
error below 10%.
© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The agro-industrial economy of many South Mediterranean
countries is mostly based on olive oil production and olive
processing. A major problem, which significantly affects the envi-
ronmental sustainability of the extraction process, is the disposal
of residues, i.e. husk and vegetation water. The husk is made up
of the pulp and of the olive whole stone eliminated during the
extraction process; while the vegetation water includes the water
contained in drupes and the one which is added during processing
(Table 1). The quality and quantity of residues are closely related
to the technological process adopted.
The continuous two-phase process enables to save more water
than the three-phase process, which turns into less vegetation
water to dispose of and husks with high values of moisture. In
both cases, the olive stone is a solid residue to dispose of. The olive
stone is a lignocellulosic material, whose main components are
hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin [1]. It is the internal part of the
drupe, which, during the phase of olive milling, is crushed and elim-
inated with residues. The olive stone can be the result of the direct
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 965 801275; fax: +39 965312681.
E-mail addresses: fbarreca@unirc.it, ing.barreca@gmail.com (F. Barreca),
cr.fichera@unirc.it (C.R. Fichera).
elimination of the olive whole stone from the olive paste, an oper-
ation carried out to obtain a sweeter and more oxidation-stable oil.
Finally, it can be obtained from the dedusting of the exhausted olive
husk coming from olive husk factories. The size and shape of the
olive stone particles depend on the milling process adopted, while
the quantity ranges from 25 to 40% of the weight of the pressed
olives, according to the extraction technology utilized [2]. The pres-
ence of the olive stone during the extraction process is particularly
useful since it allows to obtain a more draining olive paste, thus
facilitating the extraction of the oil from the mass. Furthermore,
it enriches the extracted oil with peroxides enhancing the slightly
bitter tones of its taste.
Owing to its fairly good calorific value, which is around
17,000 kJ kg−1 , it can be effectively used as a fuel, above all in the
boilers of oil mills, though it requires adequate burners and, dur-
ing combustion, produces a greater amount of fumes compared to
other kinds of biomasses. The olive stone from the exhausted husk
produced in husk factories has different characteristics.
As a matter of fact, the particular chemical processes adopted
to extract the last traces of oil from virgin husk make the olive
stone unsuitable to be used in small boilers, because of ignition
problems, emissions of fumes and bad smells, clogging of exchang-
ers and chimneys.
An interesting re-use of the olive stone is its mixing with clay to
increase the heat insulating power of bricks [3]. Other studies [4]

0378-7788/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.03.040
508 F. Barreca, C.R. Fichera / Energy and Buildings 62 (2013) 507–513

Table 1
Percentages of virgin olive husk out of 100 kg of pressed olives, according to the
extraction technology used [2].

Products Three-phase Two-phase Pressure

centrifugation centrifugation

Total husk 45–55% 70–80% 30–40%

Water 40–55% 55–65% 24–30%
Oil 3.0–5.0% 3.0–5.0% 5.5–8.0%
Pulpy part 18–20% 12–15% 25–28%
Woody part 34–38% 25–28% 40–42%

have shown that the addition of the olive stone to bituminous con-
crete mixtures improves stripping resistance, durability and water
and freeze-thaw resistance. Literature reports uses of olive stone to
produce activated carbon and sugar [5,6], as an additive for resins
[7] and as an abrasive [8].
Nevertheless, most of the latest studies have been focussed on
recovering the lignocellulosic material and biomass in order to
produce solid, liquid or gas biofuel. Yet, despite the environmen- Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of sand.
tal benefits deriving from the use of this renewable energy, some
problems remain, such as air pollution caused by carbon monoxide,
Table 2
nitrogen oxides, soot and ash produced by combustion. Physical properties of the cement lime mortar matrix used in the test (EN 998-1).
The objective of this paper is to weigh the possibility of using
Final performance Typical value
the olive stone as an additive in cement lime mortar in order to
improve its thermal insulation efficiency. Studies carried out by Reaction to fire A1
Adhesion strength >0.2 N mm−2
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have shown
Compressive strength CS II
that buildings account for 30/40% of the world’s energy consump- Capillary water absorption W0
tion, 90% of which occurs during the phase of utilization, while Water vapour permeability co-efficient () 10–20
the remaining part is consumed during the lifecycle of building Thermal conductivity 1.00 W m−1 k−1
materials [9]. A considerable part of this energy is commonly used
to control internal microclimate conditions, while another part is
Table 3
used to extract raw materials, to transport them, to make build-
Chemical analysis of the main components the cement lime mortar matrix used in
ing components and, finally, to dispose of them. An estimate of the the test.
European Environment Agency [10] has shown that, if the current
SiO2 (%) CaO (%) MgO (%) SO3 (%) Na2 O (%) K2 O (%)
building methods are maintained, about 549 Mtoe will be con-
sumed for housing and for the tertiary sector in 2020; while, if Lime 1.03 68.53 3.29 1.37 0.09 0.05
a correct saving and energy efficiency policy were implemented Cement 16.23 58.28 4.65 2.35 0.38 0.35
Aggregate 0.49 52.83 2.28 0.57 0.07 0.05
and aimed at promoting technical solutions of thermal insulation,
a saving of 27% in housing and of 30% in tertiary building could be
obtained. Therefore, interventions in this important productive sec-
tor should concern, on the one hand, the promotion of low-impact non-structural applications [12] (plaster for masonry, underfloor-
building techniques and local materials and, on the other hand, the ings, binders for masonry, etc.). The mixture was made up of 25%
implementation of specific solutions for heat insulation [11]. Thus, of cement (CEM II-A/L 32.5), 10% of lime and 65% of sand with
the use of the olive stone may be an economically and environmen- variable grain size distribution (Fig. 1). The physical and chemi-
tally sustainable solution, since its re-use as an additive in cement cal characteristics of the final cement lime mortar are shown in
lime mortar would allow to solve the problem of its disposal and Tables 2 and 3.
to produce a good insulating building material. The olive stone used in the tests reported in this paper (Fig. 2a
To that purpose, the most important thermo-physical perform- and Table 4) derives from a three-phase centrifugal extraction
ances of cement lime mortar, mixed with different percentages of process from “Carolea”and “Ottobratica” cultivars, which are par-
olive stone, were measured and compared in this study. In par- ticularly widespread in the south of Italy. After a centrifugal
ticular, a portable testing apparatus, which meets industrial rules, separation of the husk residue, the extracted olive stone underwent
was created to evaluate thermal conductance. Thanks to its simple a natural drying process in heaps located in the open and covered
functioning and high portability, it allows to carry out rapid in situ by a simple shelter. The tested olive stone showed the average
evaluations of the thermal properties of materials. values of 23.67% of moisture, 1–6 mm grain size (Fig. 2b),
6399.4 N m−3 bulk density and no evident traces of impurities or
dusts.
2. Materials

The tested cement lime mortar was obtained by adding growing Table 4
percentages of olive stone to the cement lime mortar commonly Composition of fibres in the olive stone used (the range of the fibre fraction is
used to make plasters and floor screeds. The olive stone came from expressed in grams per 100 g of dry matter).

olive oil mills that used continuous extraction processes, which are Olive stone/mortar dry Water/dry mixture
particularly common in the south of Italy. mixture weight ratio (%) weight ratio (%)
The dry mixture used to make the basic cement matrix of the Cellulose 33.45
tested specimens was produced and put on the Italian market, with Lignin 23.11
the name Sabbiacem® , by the company Meridionali Intonaci ltd. It Hemicellulose 24.45
Ash 0.02
is commonly used in the building industry to make mortars for
 F. Barreca, C.R. Fichera / Energy and Buildings 62 (2013) 507–513
Fig. 2. Olive stone. (a) Sample used for testing. (b) Grain size distribution.
2.1. Experimental setup
Tests were conducted on 6 cement lime mortar panels contain-
ing different percentages of olive stone: 0–20–40–50–60–70%. As
a matter of fact, beyond the limit of 70% the cement lime mortar
lost its workability and was difficult to spread on vertical surfaces.
The test cement lime mortar panels were 0.30 m × 0.30 m × 0.020 m
(±0.002) in size and were placed at the centre of a larger ply-
wood frame, where a fibreglass mesh (weighing 1.40 N m−2 ) was
inserted to support the tested cement lime mortar layer (Fig. 3a).
The quantity of water added to the dry mixture was different for
each specimen in order to obtain a cement lime mortar of elastic
consistency and equal workability that complied with ISO 12439
[13] (Table 5). The empty sections of the panels were filled by
spreading successive layers of cement lime mortar till a surface
coplanar with the plywood frame was obtained. The cement lime
mortar matured in an environment at 23± 2 ◦ C and 95 ± 5% relative
humidity (RH) for 28 days, thus achieving 0.50% of average mois-
ture for the test panels (Fig. 3b). Panels were tested after checking
that moisture had stabilized, which occurred on average after ten
days in the test environment.
Table 5
Percentages of water used to make specimens.
Olive stone/mortar dry Water/dry mixture
mixture weight ratio (%) weight ratio (%)
0 22.00
20 24.50
40 26.00
50 27.00
60 27.30
70 28.10
509
3. Methodology
Thermophysical parameters were measured with reference to
ISO 9869 [14] standard, which describes the method of in situ
measurement of thermal resistance. With a view to improving
the precision of measurements, a special measuring system was
conceived, which partially met ISO 8990 [15] standard about the
determination of steady-state thermal transmission properties.
This system (Fig. 4a) was made up of a small portable cold space,
on which the cement lime mortar panels were fixed. By means of
a cooling system, the cold space kept a constant temperature of
about 2 ◦ C and, thus, simulated thermal conditions similar to those
of typical Mediterranean winters [16]. The cold space was placed
in a confined environment, defined as hot space and characterized
by controlled microclimate conditions. Such a solution allowed to
obtain a more constant heat flow rate and, therefore, to improve
the precision of measurements reducing, at the same time, data
acquisition time for each specimen. Furthermore, specimens were
protected from direct solar radiation and from meteoric events
(rain, snow, wind, etc.). Thermal values were measured with a heat
flowmeter and three surface temperature sensors connected with a
data logger that acquired values at 600 s intervals (Fig. 4b). Consid-
ering the low thermal capacity of specimens (below 20 kJ m−2 K−1 ),
the test duration slightly exceeded 72 h. At the end of the tests,
data were downloaded from the data logger and processed with the
Infloflux programme developed by ANIT (i.e. Italian National Asso-
ciation for Thermal Insulation and Soundproofing). The specimen
used to calibrate the apparatus was a 1.5 cm-thick mineral-fibre
panel with a thermal conductivity of 0.040 W m−1 K−1 . The value
of the relative error, which was equal to 9%, was calculated by
comparing the values obtained in the laboratory by means of the
calibrated and guarded hot box with those obtained through the
proposed measuring system. Since the measurements carried out
during the tests on each specimen did not record any significant
fluctuation of heat flow rate and temperatures, as stated by ISO
9869, thermal conductance  [W m−2 K−1 ] was calculated through
the well-known formula (1) by applying the average method.
q(t)
t = (1)
Th (t) − Tc (t)
where q(t) is the instantaneous density of heat flow rate [W m−2 ]
at time t, Th (t) is the instantaneous temperature at time t on the
hot side, Tc (t) is the instantaneous temperature at time t on the
cold side. In the average method, parameters are calculated as aver-
age values of the measurements carried out at previous n instants.
Therefore, (1) should be rewritten as follows:
1
n
q̄(t)
 = (2) where : T̄h (t) = Th (ti ), T̄c (t)
T̄h (t) − T̄c (t) n
i=1
1 1
n n
= Tc (ti ), q̄(t) = q(ti )
n n
i=1 i=1
Panels were alternately fixed to the cold space for the analysis
of thermal conductance. Before starting the test, an infrared cam-
era was used to record the temperature distribution on the external
surfaces of each panel (in accordance with ISO 6781). Moreover, this
analysis allowed to check the proper positioning of temperature
and heat flowmeter sensor [17]. When the system achieved steady-
state conditions, the data logger was started in order to acquire
the reference thermo-physical values at constant 600 s intervals.
The data logger not only allowed to display measurements in real
time, but also to verify the achievement of a steady-state heat flow.
Such a condition is achieved when the recorded thermal conduc-
tance variations oscillate in the neighbourhood of the horizontal
510 F. Barreca, C.R. Fichera / Energy and Buildings 62 (2013) 507–513

Fig. 3. Test panel. (a) Panel frame with fiberglass mesh. (b) Tested panel.

asymptote with a maximum width of 0.05 and, anyway, after a

minimum test time of 72 h [18]. Once the above-mentioned condi-
tion was fulfilled, the values acquired and stored by the data logger
were transferred to a personal computer to be processed and to
calculate thermal conductance values through the average method
(ISO 9869).

4. Results and discussion

The addition of olive stone to the cement lime mortar did not
cause any operational difficulty since it can be added directly to the
sand during the preparation of the dry mixture. A greater quantity
of water was required to hydrate the mixture and obtain an elastic
mortar which could be worked and, above all, spread on wide sur-
faces. In fact, the high relative content of hemicellulose in the olive
stone retards the cement hydration process [19].
During the thermal resistance test, steady-state conditions were
achieved in about 24 h for the traditional cement lime mortar
without olive stone, while all the other specimens, which were
added olive stone, achieved steady-state conditions in less than
12 h (Fig. 5). By means of the recorded thermal values and of an

Fig. 4. Measuring system used for the comparative analyses of conductance in the
cement lime mortar panel. (a) Design of the measuring system. (b) Cold box and
apparatus for the measurement of thermophysical parameters.
Fig. 5. Time diagrams of average thermal conductance values for different percent-
ages of olive stone.
 F. Barreca, C.R. Fichera / Energy and Buildings 62 (2013) 507–513 511

Table 6
Values obtained from processing the thermal and physical parameters recorded during tests.

Stone percentage (%) 0 20 40 50 60 70

Average density of heat flow (W m−2 ) 85.31 83.42 81.02 72.30 85.91 69.50
Average hot surface temperature (◦ C) 14.01 16.05 19.94 16.74 20.93 21.61
Average cold surface temperature (◦ C) 12.45 13.74 16.84 12.98 15.28 16.39
Average hot space temperature (◦ C) 28.20 28.97 29.73 26.03 28.72 27.40
Average thermal conductance (W m−2 K−1 ) 54.60 36.10 26.15 19.20 15.20 13.31
Density (kg m−3 ) 1654.96 1510.21 1376.21 1224.76 1180.86 1147.94
Water absorption (%) 22.21 23.69 25.12 26.63 30.35 31.57

automatic procedure, average density of heat flow rate, average
cold surface temperature, average hot space temperature and aver-
age conductance were calculated (Table 6).
As described in ISO 9869, the accuracy of the heat flow measure-
ment depends on various parameters. The value of the accuracy is
determined by considering the maximum error values, indicated
by ISO 9869, for certain factors. In particular, a 5% error is con-
sidered in relation to the accuracy of the sensor and data logging
system calibration. The error generated by the non-perfect adhe-
sion of sensors is considered of about 5%, even if, during the tests, an
adequate contact between the surface of the sensors and the surface
of the specimens was assured by interposing a layer of conductive
paste. The value of the error resulting from the modifications of
the isotherms, caused by the presence of the heat flowmeter, is
considered equal to 3%. Though the measuring system allows to
limit the variations of temperature in the hot and cold spaces as
well as the influence of the radiant temperature, the error related
to these factors is prudentially considered equal to 6%. Finally, in
compliance with ISO 9869, the value of the total uncertainty of the
measurements carried out is calculated as quadratic sum

52 + 52 + 32 + 62 % = 10%
This is confirmed by Baldinelli [20], who set an uncertainty value
of 10%, with a confidence level of 95%. Moreover, the calculated
value can be compared to the error obtained through the system
calibration process, which started from a panel with known thermal
conductance. However, this uncertainty has a value that complies
with the common requirements for measuring the insulation values
of building elements.
The graphs of the time variations of the processed values show
a few important thermo-physical properties of the different speci-
mens (Fig. 5).
Changes in the average time values of conductance showed an
improvement in the thermal behaviour of the cement lime mor-
tar mixed with olive stone, since it was characterized by a more

Fig. 6. Variations in the properties of cement lime mortar in relation to olive stone percentage. (a) Thermal conductance. (b) Density. (c) Water absorption. (d) Conductance
and density percentage variations.
512 F. Barreca, C.R. Fichera / Energy and Buildings 62 (2013) 507–513
Fig. 7. LCIA of mortar cement lime with different olive stove percentages, for 1 m2
of panels with equal thermal conductance.
constant thermal behaviour in time and, above all, reached thermal
equilibrium more rapidly.
This behaviour is related to the decrease in density, which
resulted from the addition of olive stone and entailed a decrease
in the final thermal capacity of the cement lime mortar.
The cement lime mortar with the highest quantity of olive stone
showed a lower average thermal conductance. In particular, adding
70% of olive stone to the cement lime mortar implied an average
thermal conductance value 76% lower than traditional cement lime
mortar.
Measurements carried out on the specimens with different per-
centages of olive stone (p) allowed to obtain the law of the thermal
conductance variation in the cement lime mortar (), (Fig. 6a):
A further observation concerned the variation of the final den-
sity of the cement lime mortar. As a matter of fact, as the olive stone
percentage increased, the final density decreased. Specifically, an
olive stone percentage of 70% resulted in a decrease of about 31%
of the initial density. Such a characteristic proves that the use of
cement lime mortar is suitable for thick insulating coverings or for
lightweight aggregate concrete.
The law of the correlation between the values obtained from
the tests showed that the cement lime mortar density (D) can be
expressed, as a function of the olive stone percentage (p) (Fig. 6b).
A further test conducted on panels regarded the rate of absorbed
water Wi (%) in relation to the olive stone percentage [21]. Wi
was calculated by means of the following expression:
W − Wdi
Wi = wi
Wdi · 100
where Wwi is the weight of the ith water-satured specimen (with-
out plywood frame), measured after immersion in water for 7 days,
and Wdi is the corresponding weight after oven drying at 110 ◦ C for
a time until the achievement of a constant value.
Measurements carried out on the specimens with different per-
centages of olive stone (Table 6) allowed to obtain the following
exponential regression (Fig. 6c), which estimates water absorption
(W) as the olive stone percentage (p), contained in the cement
lime mortar.
The comparison between the conductance percentage varia-
tions and the cement lime mortar density (Fig. 6d) showed that the
conductance value decreases more significantly than density when
the olive stone percentage increases. This peculiarity may depend
on the particular olive stone grain size distribution, which tended
to fill the gaps between the grains of inert constituents [22]. As a
matter of fact, the decrease in thermal conductance results from
an increase in voids and, as a consequence, in air trapped in the
mortar, as well as from the low thermal conductance of the olive
stone, which has a percentage of cellulose close to that of wood.
Finally, a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) was carried out to
assess the environmental impact deriving from the use of cement
lime mortar with different percentages of added olive stone [23].
Simapro software with Ecoindicator 99 H/A Method was used to
analyze cement lime mortar panels with different percentages of
added olive stone and variable thickness in order to obtain the
same thermal conductance value (Fig. 7). The resulting values
showed that the environmental impact value, deriving from the
use of cement lime mortar with 70% added olive stone, was 2.64
Pt lower than the one obtained from cement lime mortar without
olive stone. This reduction is due not only to the use of a waste
material, i.e. olive stone, but also to the thinner layer of cement
lime mortar used to obtain the same thermal resistance.
5. Conclusions
The use of the olive stone may be an economically and envi-
ronmentally sustainable solution, since its re-use as an additive in
cement lime mortar would allow to solve the problem of its disposal
and to produce a good insulating building material. The improved
thermophysical characteristics resulting from the addition of olive
stone make the cement lime mortar suitable to manufacture partic-
ular building components, such as insulating and lightweight floor
screeds for underfloorings, layers of base coat plaster for insulating
walls, blocks for vertical walls. The addition of olive stone causes
a decrease in density but also an increase in water absorption. If
it is not duly taken into account, the last mentioned characteris-
tic may invalidate the improvement in the cement lime mortar
thermal performances, since water has a high thermal conduc-
tivity value ( = 0.6 W m−1 K−1 ). Moreover, in moist environments,
marcescence of the vegetable part of the olive stone may occur
[24], unless it is first properly inactivated by adding, for exam-
ple, sodium silicate, which increases its durability and resistance to
fungi and pests over time [25,26]. Therefore, it is necessary to com-
bine the use of this material with a suitable water proof coating,
which also limits water absorption and the consequent increase in
thermal conductivity. Liu et al. have also observed that the porosity
of lightweight concrete can be controlled by varying cement char-
acteristics [27]. Tests should be carried out to evaluate the cement
lime mortar behaviour not only in its real conditions of use but also
in time [28], with a view to finding and testing adequate methods
and solutions to assure a constant performance in time.
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