CHARACTERIZATION AND ANAEROBIC-DIGESTION OF WATERS FROM WASHING OF VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

A characterization and kinetic study of the anaerobic digestion of wat ers from washing of virgin olive oil were carried out. The experimenta l setup used consisted of a 1-litre thorough mixing bioreactor that wa s operated at 35-degrees-C and loaded with sepiolite-immobilized bioma ss at a concentration of 10.8 g VSS/L. The bioreactor worked satisfact orily for a hydraulic retention time of 1.1 to 5.0 days and eliminated more than 92% of the initial COD in all instances. Guiot's kinetic mo del was used to determine the macroenergetic parameters of the system, which was found to have a true yield coefficient for the biomass Y = 0.006 g VSS/g COD and a specific rate of substrate uptake for cell mai ntenance m = 0.072 g COD/g VSS . day. According to the experimental re sults obtained, the rate of substrate uptake, R(s) (g COD/g VSS . day) , was correlated with the concentration of biodegradable substrate, S( b) (g COD/L), through an equation of the Michaelis-Menten type.