Hydrology: Current Research

Treatment of Olive-Mills effluent using Electro-osmosis Dewatering

Abstract

Sameer Al-Asheh, Rami Juma, Fawzi Banat, Amani Al-Zou'bi and Nesreen Al-Qutaish

Direct current is applied to olive mill wastewater effluent which is held between two electrodes in a vertical mode. Wastewater with a total dissolved solid and COD of about 39,300 and 120,000 mg/l, respectively, is used. The effect of pH, voltage, current, and bed height on the dewatering process is investigated. The results, under certain conditions, showed that EOD is an energy saving process for water removal and can be used for treatment of olive mill wastewater. The process revealed high efficiency in reducing COD and total dissolved solid (TDS). Water medium converted from acidic to basic upon application of direct current. Increasing the voltage or the current enhanced the EOD process. Use of additives at certain level also enhanced the dewatering process; addition of alum or electrolyte at certain concentration enhanced the removal rate. Sodium chloride is the most effective electrolyte in EOD process. The on/off test, although saves energy, but did not perform better in the term of percentage water removal compared to that of the continuous process, without on/off test.