AGROPELLETS PRODUCTION FROM THE IMPREGNATION OF OLIVE MILL WASTEWATER ON SAWDUST FOR INDUSTRIAL THERMAL APPLICATION

摘要

Olive-mill wastewater (OMWW) is a characteristic by-product of olive-oil production and a major environmental problem in the Mediterranean area due to the high chemical oxygen demand (COD, up to 220 g. L~(-1)) and the high content of polyphenols. OMWW is considered as one of the most polluting agro-industrial effluents and could not be effectively process by classical biological treatment because of its phytotoxicity and antimicrobial properties. In this present work, a combined process consisting on absorption/adsorption of OMWW on sawdust, agropellets production from the OMWW/sawdust blends and energetic valorization via combustion was studied. Gaseous emissions such as CO_2, CO and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured during the agropellets combustion at temperature range 500-700°C in a fixed-bed reactor. The preliminary results show that the combustion of the impregnated sawdust pellets can be a promising strategy to reduce the amount of OMWW in the environment. Hence, a complete survey is necessary to find the optimal conditions in order to obtain an environment friendly biofuel with low impacts on the environment.