title: Membrane filtration of olive mill wastewater and exploitation of its fractions.
abstract: Olive mill wastewater (OMW) produced from small units scattered in rural areas of Southern Europe is a major source of pollution of surface and subsurface water. In the present work, a treatment scheme based on physical separation methods is presented. The investigation was carried out using a pilot-plant unit equipped with ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis membranes. Approximately 80% of the total volume of wastewater treated by the membrane units was sufficiently cleaned to meet the standards for irrigation water. The concentrated fractions collected in the treatment concentrates were characterized by high organic load and high content of phenolic compounds. The concentrates were tested in hydroponic systems to examine their toxicity towards undesired herbs. The calculations of the cost of the overall process showed that fixed and operational costs could be recovered from the exploitation of OMW byproducts as water for irrigation and/or as bioherbicides.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemical Engineering and High Temperature Chemical Processes-Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT), Patras, Greece. takisp@chemeng.upatras.gr
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Paraskeva
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Papadakis
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kanellopoulou
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Koutsoukos
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Angelopoulos
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods*; D007220:Industrial Waste; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010636:Phenols; D010938:Plant Oils; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical