%0 Journal Article
%T High-Added Value Materials Production from OMW: A Technical and Economical Optimization
%A E. C. Arvaniti
%A D. P. Zagklis
%A V. G. Papadakis
%A C. A. Paraskeva
%J International Journal of Chemical Engineering
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/607219
%X The extraction of olive oil generates huge quantities of solids and of high organic wastewaters with toxic constituents that have a great impact on land and water environments. Based on a membrane process, authors proposed an alternative method for treatment of olive mill wastewaters (OMWs). In the present paper, a technoeconomic analysis for the implementation of the proposed method in the entire Region of Western Greece (RWG) is presented. This paper takes into account fixed and operational costs, costs for the infrastructure, equipment, land, maintenance, and so forth, considering the treatment of 50,000 tons per harvesting period in the area of RWG. The study showed that the establishment of only one central treatment manufacture could reduce the uncontrolled disposal of OMW. Exploitation of the isolated fractions as manure in fertilizers (nutrients components) or as components in ecological herbicides (phenolics) can depreciate the total cost in a period of about five years. 1. Introduction Olive oil production has roughly increased worldwide in the last decades. Mediterranean countries produce 95% of the total world production of olive oil [1]. The largest producers of olive oil are Spain (42% of world production in 2007), Italy (19%), and Greece (13%), followed by Tunisia, Syria, Morocco and Turkey [1]. This makes olive oil extraction an agroindustrial activity of vital economic significance to many Mediterranean countries. Despite the economic benefit, olive oil production is unfortunately associated with the generation of large quantities of wastewaters (olive mill wastewater¡ªOMW) [2] and solid wastes, whose management, treatment, and safe disposal raise serious environmental concerns. A typical olive mill is currently producing on the average some 1,000£¿metric tons of toxic liquid wastes per harvesting season [3]. Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is a mixture of nutritious agents appropriate for fertilizing or animal feed (inorganic salts, proteins, fat substances, etc.), as well as phenolics, tannins, and other substances with phytotoxic action. The characteristic properties of OMW include its dark color, characteristic odor, acidic pH, and high organic content mainly composed of classes of pollutants such as phenolics that may exhibit antimicrobial, ecotoxic, and phytotoxic properties [4, 5]. The BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) and COD (chemical oxygen demand) of these wastewaters are such that the environmental damage from each olive mill is serious in touristic and agricultural Mediterranean regions. Due to the high organic load of OMW, it may
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijce/2012/607219/