Hydrogen gas production and pollutant removal from olive mill wastewater by electrohydrolysis

Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW) is characterized by strong organic content and also by a high number of inhibitory/complex compounds such as phenolic ones. An effective treatment method has not been sufficiently defined for the wastewater, so far. Therefore, the treatment of OMW is a major concern for manufacturers in Mediterranean countries. There is a growing interest for the application of alternative treatment methods. In this study, OMW was subjected to 10 V DC voltage for hydrogen gas production and COD, sCOD, total solids and total suspended solids, turbidity and color removal. Application of electrohydrolysis at 10 V DC for six hours; 1500 +/- 50 ml gas was produced and hydrogen content of gas (88%) was obtained. After 24 hours of settling, COD, sCOD, turbidity, TS, TSS and color removal efficiencies were determined as 75%, 56%, 93%, 61%, 94% and 92% in supernatant, respectively.