Olive mills effluent (OME) wastewater post-treatment using activated clay

Olive mill effluent (OME) wastewater embodies a challenge for environmental scientists and engineers. It is characterized by high values of COD, BOD, and phenolic content. A series of treatment steps composed of settling, cen trifugation, and filtration was consecutively used to condition OME wastewa ter. The filtrate was then subjected to a post-treatment process, namely ad sorption on activated clay. The dynamic response of phenols concentration, pH, and COD. using different concentrations of activated clay, showed a pea k at which maximum adsorption capacity was achieved. The maximum adsorption capacity for the tested concentrations of activated clay was reached in le ss than 4 h. It is thought that adsorption of phenols and organics is rever sible and mainly due to hydrophobic interactions. The maximum removal of ph enols was about 81%, while it reached about 71% for organic matter. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.