Treatment Alternatives of Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW): A Review

Abstract

Olive oil industry has an economic importance for many Mediterranean countries, such as Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. Olive mill wastewater (OMW) arises from olive oil production process is characterized by high chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), oil and grease (O&G), phenolic compounds and acidic pH. It is produced seasonally by a large number of small olive mills scattered throughout the olive oil producing countries. The treatment of OMW has been studied by different treatment methods, resulted in considerable organic load and toxicity abatement in literature. The main problem of this type of wastewater treatment is providing the discharge criteria. Single treatment methods are not so appropriate for this aim. Therefore, combined treatment processes have been carried out for OMW treatment. Chemical, biological, advanced and combined treatment technologies are reviewed and the results of these studies have been presented in this study.