Pollution estimation from olive mills wastewater in Jordan

Abstract

Olive mill wastewaters (OMWWs) are a significant source of environmental pollution, especially in important olive oil producing countries such as Spain, Greece, Syria, Jordan and other countries in the Mediterranean. Due to cost issue no treatments plants are currently available at the mills; therefore, OMWW is normally discharged into the environment causing serious environmental problems such as: coloring and pollution of surface and ground waters, soil surface, and foul odors problems. Approximately 209,000 tons of olives have been processed in Jordan in 2017, which generated 175,000 m 3 of OMWWs. They generated rougly 3,069 tons of BOD 5 , 7,956 tons of COD, 149 tons of residual olive oil, 2.07 tons of phenols, 3,753 ton total suspended solids and 4.2 ton of phosphorous. The OMWW is rich in organic matter expressed as BOD 5 and COD with COD/BOD 5 of 2.6 indicated that OMWWs is not suitable for biological treatment and therefore must be treated before discharge to the environment or sewer system. Cleaner production options and proper environmental waste management systems at the mills are needed to reduce their environmental impact. This may include the adoption of the two-phase mills to reduce water use to less than half the quantities used in traditional and three phases mills.

Sustainable Environmental Management and Valorization Options for Olive Mill Byproducts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

“…To alleviate these negative impacts, environmentally friendly waste management technique is required by law. The most common management practices are the use of lagoons or storage ponds located on mill sites that both allow wastewater to evaporate naturally and for solids (along with any heavy metals) to settle to the bottom of ponds [3,4].…”

“…The replacement of the three-phase mills with two-phase mills has reduced consumption of water throughout oil extraction processes. This change has a significant positive impact in most Mediterranean countries as these countries are also undergoing severe water shortages [3,4]. Additionally, the use of less water translates to generation of lower quantities of process byproducts.…”

“…Olive groves are the main agricultural plantation over the eastern Mediterranean. Olive orchards are typically small and located in hilly areas and therefore difficult to access and expensive to harvest by hand [3]. In addition to the nutritional value in its products, olive trees have significant social and economic importance in the life of the people living in Mediterranean countries.…”

“…The environmental impact of olive oil production is critical in all olive oil producing countries in the Mediterranean. The oil extraction processes need a significant amount of water and produces huge amounts of olive mill wastes (OMWs) in short period of time (October-January) of olive harvesting season [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Olive oil extraction generate two types of waste streams: a liquid stream called (OMWW) or locally named "Zibar" and a solid residue known as pomace, locally referred to as "Jift." Olive mills dispose their OMWW in settling ponds that are normally under-sized and sometimes get overloaded causing spillage to nearby valleys [3,4]. There are no proper facilities for treatment of OMWW in individual mills, so their minimization, prevention and treatment, have long been investigated to reduce their environmental impacts caused by their uncontrolled disposal [12].…”