Lebanon: Chouf residents rush to buy imported olive ‘wood’
Long before anyone called it green energy, olive country ran on its own leftovers. Press the fruit for oil and what remains — skins, pulp and crushed stones — dries into one of the cheapest, hottest solid fuels a cold hillside ever burned.
When winter bites in the Mediterranean uplands, firewood gets expensive and diesel more so. For centuries, olive-growing communities have had a quiet answer under their own presses: the solid residue left after the oil is squeezed out. Dried and often compressed into logs or pellets, it burns long and hot — and it costs a fraction of oak or orange wood. What sounds like a modern eco-fuel is really one of the oldest recycling tricks in the olive world.
What is actually in an olive ‘log’
Press olives for oil and you are left with pomace — a wet paste of skins, pulp and shattered stones. Historically the mill sold this on: the oil still trapped in it was extracted with solvents to make cheap pomace oil, and the woody remainder was dried for fuel. The crushed olive stones are the prize. They are dense, low in moisture and high in energy, and they burn like a slow, even coal. Compress the dried material under pressure and it binds into briquettes or pellets with no glue needed — the fruit’s own residues hold it together.
Why it heats so well
Good olive-stone fuel is genuinely impressive: it lights readily, holds a steady heat for a couple of hours a log, and leaves relatively little ash. A well-made briquette can rival ordinary hardwood for warmth at a lower price, which is exactly why hill families reach for it when the cost of oak, orange wood or heating oil climbs. It will not replace every stick of wood — most households still keep some conventional logs for a fast, bright fire — but as the steady background heat of a stove, it earns its place.
The catch worth knowing
Here is the honest part. Not all olive fuel is equal. Loose pits and cheap briquettes vary wildly in moisture and binding; a damp or badly-pressed batch smokes, clinkers and disappoints. Pellet and briquette burners are also fussier than an open hearth — the fuel needs to be dry and clean, and some appliances are built for wood, not dense olive residue. Buy on a stated moisture and ash figure if you can, keep it bone dry, and match the fuel to a stove that can take it. Done right, it is a bargain; done carelessly, it is a smoky false economy.
The bigger point: nothing is wasted
Step back and the olive is a marvel of thrift. The flesh gives oil; the residue gives fuel and, after solvent extraction, a lower oil grade; the prunings feed the fire too; even the ash returns to the grove. A single fruit heats the home that grew it. That closed loop is part of why the olive has anchored Mediterranean life for so long — it pays its keep several times over. When you read about people buying olive ‘wood’ to get through winter, that is what they are buying: the tree’s leftovers, doing one more job.
| Fuel | Roughly how it burns | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Olive-stone briquettes | Long, steady, low ash | Cheap; needs to be dry; great background heat |
| Loose olive pits | Hot but variable | Quality swings with moisture and pressing |
| Oak firewood | Hot, long, clean | The benchmark hardwood; pricier |
| Orange / fruitwood | Milder, quicker | Traditional, often cheaper than oak |
| Heating oil | Instant, controllable | Convenient but the most exposed to price spikes |
Buying and burning it well
- Prefer briquettes or pellets with a stated low moisture and ash content.
- Store it bone dry — damp olive fuel smokes and clinkers.
- Use it as steady background heat; keep some wood for a fast fire.
- Check your stove is rated for dense residue fuel, not just wood.
- Treat it as one part of the mix, not a total replacement.
Olive-residue fuel: common questions
What is olive ‘firewood’ made of?
Usually the dried, compressed residue of oil pressing — olive skins, pulp and especially the crushed stones — formed into briquettes or pellets.
Does it burn better than wood?
Good olive-stone briquettes rival hardwood for steady heat and leave little ash, at a lower price — but quality varies, so damp or cheap batches disappoint.
Is it the same as pomace oil?
Related. Pomace is the pressing residue; some of it is solvent-extracted for low-grade pomace oil, and the woody remainder is dried for fuel.
Can I burn it in any stove?
Not always. Dense olive fuel and pellets need dry storage and an appliance rated for them; some wood-only stoves handle it poorly.
Why is it popular in olive regions?
It is a cheap local by-product. When firewood and heating oil get expensive, communities near mills fall back on the residue their own presses produce.
People hear ‘fuel made from olives’ and picture a gimmick. It is nothing of the sort — the crushed stone is a serious little fuel, dense and slow, and mills have sold it for heat for as long as they have pressed oil. The trick is quality. A dry, well-pressed briquette is a bargain that burns half the evening; a damp, badly-bound one smokes and lets you down and sours people on the whole idea. Buy on moisture and ash numbers, keep it dry, and treat it as your steady heat with a bit of real wood for cheer.
Written from olive-milling knowledge and general biomass-fuel practice around olive pomace and stones; not tied to any single news report.