Brine recovery from hypersaline wastewaters from table olive processing by combination of biological treatment and membrane technologies. (20th January 2017) - Ferrer-Polonio, E.
Abstract: The fermentation brines from table olive processing (FTOP) are hypersaline effluents (conductivities higher than 75 mS cm −1 ) with high organic matter concentrations (COD around 10 g L −1 ), which also include phenolic compounds (between 700 and 1500 mg TY·L −1 ). In this work, an integrated process for the FTOP reuse as brine in the table olive processing has been evaluated. This integrated process consisted of a biological treatment followed by a membrane system, which included ultrafiltration (UF) plus nanofiltration (NF). The biological treatment was carried out by 6 L laboratory sequencing batch reactor (SBR). UF and NF were performed in laboratory plants for flat membranes of 0.0125 and 0.0072 m 2, respectively. Each stream generated during the FTOP treatment (SBR effluent, and UF and NF permeates) were evaluated. The SBR eliminated around 80% of COD and 71% of total phenols concentration. In the final NF permeate the COD concentration was lower than 125 mg L −1 ; while the turbidity, colour and phenolic compounds, were completely removed. Graphical abstract: Highlights: Biological process plus membranes were used for hypersaline wastewater treatment. Around 80% of the organic matter was eliminated in the biodegradable treatment. Ultrafiltration plus nanofiltration removed colour, turbidity and phenols compounds. After membrane treatment COD was reduced by 98%, meanwhile salinity was conserved. The regenerated brine is available for its reuse as a new fermentation process.