Two-step wastewater treatment:: Sequential ozonation-aerobic biodegradation

Ozonation of wastewater from olive related industries has been carried out after dilution with synthetic urban wastewater. The advantages of the application of different acidic and basic cycles during the ozonation process have been shown. Biodegradability of the final effluent measured as the biological oxygen demand to chemical oxygen demand ratio has significantly been increased (100-144% for table olive wastewater and 24-60% for olive oil wastewater). Aerobic biological experiments conducted by using non-acclimated microorganisms confirmed the suitability of the biodegradation after the chemical oxidation pre-treatment. A kinetic model based on a free radical mechanism has been used to simulate experimental results. Both chemical oxygen demand and dissolved ozone concentration profiles are well fitted by the model. The aerobic biodegradation process has been modeled by utilizing the Monod equation.