Treatment and valorization of olive mill wastewaters

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the physicochemical process with lime and ferric chloride in removing the pollution generated by the olive mill wastewaters (OMW) .The characterization of the samples has shown that they are acidic, with a black color and a strong organic load due to the presence of phenolic compounds. The combination of the lime and the ferric chloride allows the removal of 87% of the total suspended solid (TSs), 58% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 75% of Phenolic compounds. After purification the treated OMW were valorized as wash water or used for irrigation of green spaces and the generated sludge were dried and used as burning material.