Work

Efficiency of an Ultrafiltration Process for the Depollution of Pretreated Olive Mill Wastewater

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The depollution of constructed wetland-pretreated olive mill wastewater (OMW) using a membrane filtration system was experimentally studied. Dead-end filtration (DEF) was employed to evaluate suitable MF/UF membranes and select the appropriate molecular weight cut-off for optimal OMW treatment. Removal efficiencies for COD (chemical oxygen demand) and TOC (total organic carbon) using DEF reached maximum values of 88.14% and 11.17%, respectively. Adsorption of raw and pretreated OMW on granular activated carbon was also carried out for a comparative study against DEF and pretreatment. The semi-industrial-scale experiments were conducted using commercial ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) membranes (150 and 50 kDa) in cross-flow filtration (CFF) mode at a permeate flux around 200 L h−1 m−2 and a trans-membrane pressure (TMP) of 3.5–3.8 bars. This post-treatment had a significant impact on COD removal efficiency from pretreated OMW, reaching 78.5%. The coupled process proposed in this study achieved removal efficiencies of 97%, 97%, and 99.9% of COD, TOC, and turbidity, respectively.

Source: Membranes

DOI: 10.3390/membranes15030067

Authors: Mohammed Zine, Noureddine Touach, El Mostapha Lotfi, Philippe Moulin

Institutions: Mohammed V University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Aix-Marseille Université, Laboratoire de Mécanique, Modélisation & Procédés Propres, Centrale Méditerranée

Language: English

Topic: Membrane Separation Technologies

Subfield: Water Science and Technology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,654