Grantee Research Project Results
Treatment and Recycle of Olive Mill Waste at Rural Olive Mills in the West Bank
EPA Grant Number: SU835308Title: Treatment and Recycle of Olive Mill Waste at Rural Olive Mills in the West Bank
Investigators: Hong, Andy , Elmadhoun, A. , Sweeney, D. , Earl, J. , Li, Xinhua
Current Investigators: Hong, Andy , Elmadhoun, A. , Lin, Ching-Chieh , Earl, Jessica , Conroy-Ben, Otakuye
Institution: University of Utah
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2012 through August 14, 2013
Project Amount: $15,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2012) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Olive mill waste (OMW), a byproduct of olive oil production, is a major environmental pollutant due to its high organic content, pH and concentration of phytotoxic compounds. In the West Bank OMW is disposed of without treatment into waterways and cesspools generating odor, surface and groundwater pollution and inhibiting aquatic plant and animal life. The objective of this project is to address a relatively simple process that can be installed for an acceptable cost to olive mill owners to treat solid and liquid wastes generated from olive oil production in the West Bank and other olive oil producing areas.
Approach:
The proposed project addresses people in the form of preserving fresh-water resources, the planet in the form of reducing surface- and ground-water pollution, prosperity in the form of direct and indirect reduction of societal economic burdens through utilization of process outputs for agricultural use and reduction in the cost and use of delivered freshwater. The focus of the project will be to design an OMW treatment process for an olive mill in the village of Deir Abu Mashal in the West Bank. However, by addressing location-specific constraints the solution will be applicable throughout the West Bank and broader Mediterranean region. The University of Utah team will focus on testing and evaluation of the proposed treatment process which includes physical treatment by sand filtration, aerobic biological treatment of the liquid component, and composting of the solid component. A collaborative partnership has been established with Birzeit University in the West Bank who will assist the Utah team by characterizing the waste material, identifying locally available construction materials, and assessing the willingness of local mill owners to invest in the treatment process. In addition, a training program will be established to ensure that end-users will be educated regarding the need for treatment, and installation and operation of the treatment process. Both teams will share their experiences through undergraduate engineering seminar presentations.
Expected Results:
The expected result of this project is the development of a simple, lowmaintenance process that treats OMW to acceptable secondary standards, utilizes locally available construction material, is acceptable to the end-users, and is transferrable to olive mills throughout the Mediterranean region. The community will benefit from the reduced groundwater, surface water and odor pollution, and recycle of process outputs at the olive farm.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 2 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 1 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Treatment technologies, environmental education, water conservation, waste to value, agricultural wastewater treatmentProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.