AN INTEGRATED CENTRIFUGATION-ULTRAFILTRATION SYSTEM IN THE TREATMENT OF OLIVE MILL WASTEWATER

A novel approach in the treatment of olive mill wastewater is presented. Aim of the proposed process is both the reduction of pollution caused by the wastes and the selective separation of some useful products that are present (fats, sugars, polyphenols, etc.). The treatment consists in a preliminary centrifugation step, in which the suspended solids are removed, and in an actual selective separation phase, carried out by ultrafiltration (UF), of the centrifuge supernatant. The combination of centrifugation and ultrafiltration allows a COD reduction of about 90%. Moreover a complete separation of fats, completely rejected by the membrane, from salts, sugars and polyphenols, contained in the permeate, is attained. The present experimental study is directed to investigate the fluid-dynamic aspects related to the ultrafiltration of real olive mill wastewaters. It is based on a preliminary rheological characterization of the waste and on the evaluation of permeation efficiency that was analyzed as a function of several parameters such as the importance of pre-treating wastewater, the effects of localized turbulence, promoted by UF module geometry, and of the main operating variables (trans-membrane pressure and feed flow rate). UF experimental results, obtained in a lab-scale flat-sheet membrane module, are interpreted using both the cake-filtration and the resistance-in-series models, thus allowing the evaluation of Rf parameter that represents the effect of fouling on separation efficiency. An estimation of specific cake resistance, α, is, therefore, performed on the basis of the feed concentration of total non-water compounds present in the waste showing that pre-treated wastewaters give a lower α with respect to raw wastewaters by a factor of about 1000. Moreover, it is found that at the same TMP, lower values of α correspond to a greater Re and that higher local turbulence implies lower specific cake resistances. The results obtained in the present paper could give useful indications for a preliminary characterization of pilot and industrial modules utilized for olive mill wastewaters treatment aimed at a significant COD reduction and a selective separation of valuable compounds that are present in the waste. Keywords: ; Turbulence promotion; Centrifugation