Document details

Olive oil production is a traditional agricultural industry in Mediterranean countries and Portugal is one of the ten major producers. This industry generates an effluent, olive mill wastewater (OMW), which does not undergo any treatment and, usually, is stored in evaporation lagoons or spread on the land. Disposal of olive oil mill wastewaters is a serious environmental problem due to its high organic loading, presence of polyphenols and tannins, high content in suspended solids and acidity, which contributes to its ecotoxicity. In this work it was intended to study the biodegradation of OMW by microrganisms naturally present in these wastewaters. Thus, an aerobic biological treatment system: a packed-bed batch reactor was applied to a OMW from a mill on northern of Portugal, exploring its autochthon microbial population as inoculum. The biodegradation ability of OMW by microrganisms naturally present in these wastewaters was assessed, by following the evolution of the process and monitoring several of its physico-chemical parameters. Furthermore, an ecotoxicological evaluation, using chronic toxicity tests (Pseudomonas putida growth inhibition test and Vibrio fischeri growth inhibition test), was performed to follow the detoxification capacity of the system as well as its potential to be used in the treatment of this type of agroindustrial effluent.