Experimental Design Optimization Of A Reverse Osmosis Membrane For Olive Mill Wastewater Purification After Advanced Oxidation

Although membranes are a mature technology, many aspects are still in development. The main handicap is membrane fouling, investigated by a plethora of researchers in the last years to convince investors to implement membranes as substitutes of a range of unit operations at industrial scale. In the field of wastewater treatments, this is especially problematic, given the low economic value of the product, that is, treated water. The management of the effluents generated by olive oil industries represents an ever-increasing problem still unresolved. Within this framework, the prediction of the performance of a selected membrane is mandatory for its operation when implemented in a treatment process at industrial scale. The core of the present work was the modelling and optimization of a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane operation for the purification of a tertiarytreated olive mill wastewater stream (OMW2TT). Statistical multifactorial analysis was employed to examined the variables including the operating pressure (PTM), tangential velocity (vt) and operating temperature (T). Upon the optimized parameters, namely ambient temperature (24 o C), moderate operating pressure (31.5) and turbulent flow (4 m s -1 ), the standards to reuse the purified effluent for irrigation, discharge to sewers or even reused in the production process were ensured.