Supercritical water oxidation of olive oil mill wastewater

The supercritical wet air oxidation of olive oil mill wastewater has been c arried out at 25.0 MPa of total pressure and temperatures in the range 380- 500 degreesC. The process is well described by simple first-order kinetics with no dependence on the oxygen concentration when it is in excess. The ap parent activation energy of the reaction has been found to have a value of 32.7 kJ mol(-1) for chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. Similar values ha ve been calculated for other global parameters analyzed (total carbon, tota l organic carbon, etc.). The use of free-radical promoters enhances the eff iciency of the treatment by lowering the activation energy of the process u p to a value of 27.5 kJ mol(-1) for COD elimination. Both promoted and nonp romoted oxidations mainly occur through total mineralization.