Clarification of olive mill and winery wastewater by means of clay–polymer nanocomposites

Highly polluted effluents from olive mills and wineries, among others, are unsuitable for discharge into standard sewage-treatment plants due to the large amounts of organic and suspended matter. Efficiency of all management practices for such effluents depends on an effective pretreatment that lowers the amount of suspended solids. Such pretreatments are usually based on three separate stages, taking a total of 2 to 6 h: coagulation—neutralizing the colloids, flocculation—aggregating the colloids into larger particles, and separation via filtration or decanting. Previous studies have presented the concept of coagoflocculation based on the use of clay–polymer nanocomposites. This process adds a higher density clay particle to the flocs, accelerating the process to between 15 and 60 min. This study examined suitable nanocomposites based on different clays and polymers. The charge of the compounds increased proportionally to the polymer-to-clay ratio. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements indicated that in sepiolite-based nanocomposites there is no change in the structure of the mineral, whereas in smectite-based nanocomposites, the polymer intercalates between the clay layers and increases the spacing depending on the polymer-to-clay ratio. Efficiency of the coagoflocculation process was studied with a dispersion analyzer. Sequential addition of olive mill or winery effluents with a boosting dose of nanocomposites may yield a very efficient and rapid clarification pretreatment.

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► Nanocomposites yielded clarification of olive mill (OMW) and winery effluents (WW).
► In smectite based nanocomposites intercalation of the polymer was measured.
► In sepiolite based nanocomposites no changes in the spacing were observed.
► Colloidal neutralization is the main clarification process in WW but not in OMW.
► Several cycles of effluents might be added to an initial dose of nanocomposites.