A Novel Photocatalyst with Ferromagnetic Core Used for the Treatment of Olive Oil Mill Effluents from Two-Phase Production Process

Photocatalytic degradation of olive oil mill wastewater from two-phase continuous centrifugation process was studied. A novel photocatalyst with ferromagnetic properties was characterized and investigated. The degradation capacity of the photocatalytic process of olive oil washing wastewater (OMW) and mixture of olives and olive oil (1 v/v) washing wastewaters (MOMW) was demonstrated. At lab-scale, the %COD removal and residence time (τ) for MOMW and OMW were 58.4% (τ = 2 h) and 21.4% (τ = 3 h), respectively. On the other hand, at pilot scale, 23.4% COD(removal), 19.2% total phenols(removal), and 28.1% total suspended solids(removal) were registered at the end of the UV/TiO2 process for OMW, whereas 58.3% COD(removal), 27.5% total phenols(removal), and 25.0% total suspended solids(removal) for MOMW. Also, before the UV/TiO2 reaction, a pH-T flocculation operation as pretreatment was realized. The overall efficiency of the treatment process for MOMW was up to 91% of COD(removal), in contrast with 33.2% of COD(removal) for OMW.