Chemical Pretreatment of Olive Oil Mill Wastewater Using a Metal-Organic Framework Catalyst

Olive oil mill wastewaters (OOMW) are not suited for direct biological treatment because of theirnonbiodegradable and phytotoxic compound (such as polyphenols) content. Advanced technologiesfor treatment of OOMW consider mainly the use of solid catalysts in processes that can be operatedat room conditions. A system based on combined actions of catalytic oxidations and microbialtechnologies was studied. The wet hydrogen peroxide catalytic oxidation (WHPCO) process is oneof the new emerging oxidation processes particularly attractive for the pretreatment of highly pollutedOOMW containing polyphenols that are not suited for classical treatments. In this work, thebiodegradability of OOMW was evaluated before and after treating the wastewater samples by theWHPCO process using a metal-organic framework (MOF) as a catalyst. This material, containing Cuand prepared with benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (BTC), is a robust metal-organic polymer with amicroporous structure that is reminiscent of the topology of zeolite frameworks