Olive Oil Mill Wastewater Treatment by the Electro-Fenton Process

Abstract

Environmental Context. The combination of the Fenton’s reagent with electrochemistry (the electro-Fenton process) represents an efficient method for wastewater treatment. This study describes the use of this process to clean olive oil mill wastewater, which is a real environmental problem in Mediterranean countries. Contrary to the conventional methods which reduce the pollution by removing the pollutants from the wastewater, the electro-Fenton process is shown to fully destroy (mineralize) olive oil mill wastes in water without previous extraction and without addition of chemical reagents. Abstract. Treatment of olive oil mill wastewater is one of the most important environmental problems for Mediterranean countries. This wastewater contains many organic compounds like polyphenols, which are very difficult to treat by classical techniques. An advanced electrochemical oxidation process, the electro-Fenton process, has been used as a way of removing chemical oxygen demand and colour intensity from olive oil mill wastewater. Vanillic acid, which has been selected as a model compound, and olive oil mill wastewater have been completely mineralized by the electro-Fenton process with a carbon felt cathode, using Fe2+ ions as the catalyst.