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Review
. 2018 Jul 23:9:1641.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01641. eCollection 2018.

Table Olive Wastewater: Problem, Treatments and Future Strategy. A Review

Bárbara Rincón-Llorente  1 , David De la Lama-Calvente  1 , María J Fernández-Rodríguez  1 , Rafael Borja-Padilla  1
Affiliations
Review

Table Olive Wastewater: Problem, Treatments and Future Strategy. A Review

Bárbara Rincón-Llorente et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

The table olive industry produces a high quantity of wastewater annually. These wastewaters are very problematic because of their characteristics of high organic matter, high phenolic content, high salinity and conductivity. The quantities in which they are produced are also a serious problem. The worldwide production of table olives reached 2,550,000 tons in the last five campaigns, with the European Union contributing to 32% of total production. The problem of these wastewaters is focused on the Mediterranean area where the highest quantity of table olives is produced and to a lesser extent on the United States and South America. Countries like Spain produce around 540,000 tons of these wastewaters. At present, there is no standard treatment for these wastewaters with acceptable results and which is applied in the industry. Currently, the most common treatment is the storage of these wastewaters in large evaporation ponds where, during the dry season, the wastewater disappears due to evaporation. This is not a solution as the evaporation ponds depend completely on the climatology and have a high number of associated problems, such as bad odors, insect proliferation and the contamination of underground aquifers. Different studies have been carried out on table olive wastewater treatment, but the reality is that at the industrial level, none has been successfully applied. New and promising treatments are needed. The current review analyzes the situation of table olive wastewater treatment and the promising technologies for the future.

Keywords: added value compounds; advanced oxidation processes; biological treatments; bioremediation technologies; table olive wastewaters.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Global prediction for table olive production (in percentage of the overall predicted production of 2.8 million tons for season 2017/2018) by countries. Source: International Olive Council [IOC], 2017.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Prediction for table olive production in the EU (in percentage of the overall predicted production of 2.8 million tons for season 2017/2018) by countries. Source: International Olive Council [IOC], 2017.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Table olives sorted regarding standard trade preparations (International Olive Oil Council [IOOC], 2004).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Table olives sorted regarding the economic importance from global standpoint (adapted from Rejano et al., 2010).
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Main characteristics of the generated from the most economically important elaboration systems.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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