Phenolic compounds removal in table olive processing wastewater by column adsorption: conditions' optimization.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Olive table industry wastewater presents significant environmental challenges due to high organic matter and phenolic compounds (PCs).
• Effective treatment methods are needed to manage this waste stream and recover valuable compounds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the recovery of phenolic compounds (PCs) from table olive wastewater (TOWW) using adsorption.
• To develop and characterize activated carbon from olive pomace (OP) for PC adsorption.
• To optimize the adsorption process and evaluate its cost-effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• Activated carbon was synthesized from olive pomace (OP) using ZnCl2 activation.
• Characterization of the activated carbon was performed using FTIR, BET, SEM, and EDS.
• A central composite design (CCD) was employed to optimize adsorption conditions (adsorbent dose, temperature, time).
• Adsorption kinetics and isotherms were modeled using pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models, respectively.
• PC recovery was demonstrated in fixed-bed reactors.

Main Results:

• The synthesized activated carbon exhibited favorable characteristics for adsorption.
• Optimal adsorption conditions yielded a high adsorption capacity of 1952.34 mg g⁻¹.
• Pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models best described the adsorption process.
• Successful PC recovery was achieved in fixed-bed reactors.

Conclusions:

• Activated carbon derived from olive pomace is an effective and low-cost adsorbent for phenolic compounds in table olive wastewater.
• The developed adsorption process offers a sustainable solution for managing olive industry wastewater.