Olive oil mill wastewater treatment using a chemical and biological approach

Olive oil mill wastewaters (OMW) are recalcitrant to biodegradation for their toxicity due to high values of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and phenolic compounds. In the present study OMW, collected in southern Italy, were subjected first to a chemical oxidative procedure with FeCl3 and then to a biological treatment. The latter was performed in a pilot plant where mixed commercial selected bacteria, suitable for polyphenols and lipid degradation, were inoculated. The effect of treatments was assessed through COD removal, reduction of total phenols, and decrease of toxicity using primary consumers of the aquatic food chain (the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus and the crustacean Daphnia magna). The results showed that the chemical oxidation was efficacious in reducing all parameters analyzed. A further decrease was found by combining chemical and biological treatments.