Abstract
Olive oil production using three-phase decanter systems creates olive oil and two by-products: olive mill wastewater (OMWW) and pomace. These by-products contain the highest share of polyphenolic compounds that are known to be associated with beneficial effects on human health. Therefore, they are an attractive source of phenolic compounds for further industrial use in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. The use of these phenolics is limited due to difficulties in recovery, high reactivity, complexity of the OMWW matrix and different physiochemical properties of phenolic compounds. This research, focused on OMWW, was performed in two phases. First, different polyphenol extraction methods were compared to obtain the method that yields the highest polyphenol concentration. Twenty-five phenolic compounds and their isomers were determined. Acidifying OMWW, followed by five minutes of ultrasonication, resulted in the highest measured polyphenol content of 27 mg/L. Second, the collection of polyphenolic compounds from OMWW via adsorption on unmodified iron (II, III) oxide particles was investigated. Although low yields were obtained for removed polyphenolic compounds in one removal cycle, the process has a high capability to be repeated.
Highlights
Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds found largely in fruits, vegetables, cereals and beverages, and they are characterized by powerful antioxidant activity [1]
Because of the high variety in polyphenolic compounds, one high-yield extraction technique may be effective for one phenolic compound but not another it is not a surprise that several research groups came to different results to determine which is the best extraction technique to obtain the highest polyphenol yield in olive mill wastewater (OMWW)
The polyphenolic composition of OMWW obtained from Slovenian Istria was determined via several extraction techniques
Summary
Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds found largely in fruits, vegetables, cereals and beverages, and they are characterized by powerful antioxidant activity [1]. They are generally involved in plants as a defence against ultraviolet radiation or aggression by pathogens, parasites and predators [1,2]. Exhibit high toxicity towards plants, bacteria, soil and aquatic animals [11] Due to these negative environmental effects, and because the annual global OMWW production is estimated to be between 10 and 30 million m3 [12], different systems have been proposed over the years to treat, minimize or prevent the release of these pollutants [13]. Instead of safe OMWW disposal, this matrix (i.e., the components of a sample other than the analyte of interest) can be used as a cheap source of valuable components; it is an interesting opportunity to recover phenols and utilize them as a source in natural food additives, pharmaceuticals or cosmetics
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