## 1 Introduction
They found that PEF treatment at 5 kV/cm improved carotenoid extraction by 39% compared to control samples and reduced the solvents percentage from 30% to 45% without affecting the carotenoid extraction yield. [PERSON] et al. [12] studied the effect of PEF treatment on anthocyanin extraction yield from purple-fleshed potatoes with different extraction time and temperature ranging from 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C to 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C. A PEF treatment of 3.4 kV/cm for 105 \(\upmu\)s significantly increased the extraction yield and enabled the use of water as a solvent. PEF was also used to stimulate the carotenoid accumulation in plant tissues by changing the respiratory activity and primary quality attributes of tomatoes. Total carotenoid and lycopene concentrations were enhanced by about 50% after applying 30 pulses at 200 kV/m (2.31 kJ/kg) [13]. The turgor of fruits and vegetables is one of the greatest concerns in mechanical operations, such as cutting or slicing. PEF treatment could reduce the turgor pressure and soften plant tissue with no modification to its fresh appearance [14; 15], and thus reduce the energy consumption required for mechanical operations. PEF is also effectively used for drying and freezing food by enhancing heat and mass transfer processes [9; 16; 17]. An extraction process is used to produce juices from fruits and vegetables. This generally consists of a mechanical extraction (e.g., pressing or centrifugation). PEF technology can improve the extraction efficiency by increasing the yield, decreasing the processing time, and reducing the energy requirements of the process and subsequent processes [10]. [PERSON] et al. [18] evaluated the impact of PEF treatment on oranges, pomelos, and lemons in aqueous media. They observed juice extraction yield increases, after pressing, of 25% for oranges, 37% for pomelos, and 59% for lemons. Recently, different, new technologies in the olive oil extraction process have been introduced and studied to support the malaxation step with the aim of improving the oil extraction yield and final quality, such as low-frequency ultrasound [19; 20; 21; 22], microwave [23; 24], high-frequency ultrasound [25; 26; 27], and PEF. [PERSON] et al. [28] used a PEF (1.6-70.0 kJ/kg) process before malaxation (30 min at 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C) with an extraction yield increase up to 18%. Another study found that the extraction yield improved54% when olive paste was treated with a PEF (2 kV/cm) without malaxation, and at 15 \({}^{\circ}\)C (malaxation temperature), the extraction yield improved by 14.1% [29]. This indicates a reduction of malaxation temperature without negative effect on extraction yield. Also, [PERSON] et al. [30] observed a 13.3% extraction increase with the application of a PEF treatment (2 kV/cm) to olive paste. Moreover, olive oil at the end of the process exhibited significantly higher total phenolic content, total phytosterols, and total tocopherols than control samples. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of PEF technology applied in an industrial olive oil extraction process to improve extractability and enhance oil quality. In order to achieve this aim, PEF technology installed downstream of the crushing stage and upstream of malaxation was applied to olive paste by means of a specific PEF device.