Electrochemical treatment of olive mill wastewater: Treatment extent and effluent phenolic compounds monitoring using some uncommon analytical tools

Problems related with industrials effluents can be divided in two parts: (1) their toxicity associated to their chemical content which should be removed before discharging the wastewater into the receptor media; (2) and the second part is linked to the difficulties of pollution characterisation and monitoring caused by the complexity of these matrixes. This investigation deals with these two aspects, an electrochemical treatment method of an olive mill wastewater (OMW) under platinized expanded titanium electrodes using a modified Grignard reactor for toxicity removal as well as the exploration of the use of some specific analytical tools to monitor effluent phenolic compounds elimination. The results showed that electrochemical oxidation is able to remove/mitigate the OMW pollution. Indeed, 87% of OMW color was removed and all aromatic compounds were disappeared from the solution by anodic oxidation. Moreover, 55% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the total organic carbon (TOC) were reduced. On the other hand, UV- Visible spectrophotometry, Gaz chromatography/mass spectrometry, cyclic voltammetry and 13 C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) showed that the used treatment seems efficaciously to eliminate phenolic compounds from OMW. It was concluded that electrochemical oxidation in a modified Grignard reactor is a promising process for the destruction of all phenolic compounds present in OMW. Among the monitoring analytical tools applied, cyclic voltammetry and 13 C NMR are among the techniques that are introduced for the first time to control the advancement of the OMW treatment and gave a close insight on polyphenols disappearance.     

Removal of bisphenol A and some heavy metal ions by polydivinylbenzene magnetic latex particles

In this study, magnetic polydivinylbenzene latex particles MP_DVB with a core-shell structure were tested for the removal of bisphenol A (BPA), copper Cu(II), lead Pb(II), and zinc Zn(II) from aqueous solutions by a batch-adsorption technique. The effect of different parameters, such as initial concentration of pollutant, contact time, adsorbent dose, and initial pH solution on the adsorption of the different adsorbates considered was investigated. The adsorption of BPA, Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) was found to be fast, and the equilibrium was achieved within 30 min. The pH 5–5.5 was found to be the most suitable pH for metal removal. The presence of electrolytes and their increasing concentration reduced the metal adsorption capacity of the adsorbent. Whereas, the optimal pH for BPA adsorption was found 7, both hydrogen bonds and π–π interaction were thought responsible for the adsorption of BPA on MP_DVB. The adsorption kinetics of BPA, Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) were found to follow a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Equilibrium data for BPA, Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) adsorption were fitted well by the Langmuir isotherm model. Furthermore, the desorption and regeneration studies have proven that MP_DVB can be employed repeatedly without impacting its adsorption capacity.     

Environmental quality assessment of the fish farms’ impact in the Monastir Bay (eastern of Tunisia,Central Mediterranean): a benthic foraminiferal perspective

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Offshore fish farms have been active inside the Monastir Bay, Hammemet Gulf for over 10 years, but their environmental impact is still...     

A fast and accurate method for specific detection and quantification of the bloom-forming microalgae Karlodinium veneficum in the marine environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Karlodinium veneficum is a toxic benthic globally distributed dinoflagellate which has direct impacts on human health and the environment. Early and...     

Production and structure prediction of amylases from Chlorella vulgaris

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Amylases are enzymes required for starch degradation and are naturally produced by many microorganisms. These enzymes are used in several fields such...