Valorization of olive mill wastewater for Arthrospira platensis production

Intending to reduce the related environmental impact of olive oil wastewater while producing new by-products, this research paper proposes an innovative solution for the treatment of wastewater that combines microfiltration and ultrafiltration techniques with microalgae cultivation. Laboratory scale analysis and pilot scale operation have been performed to assess the techno-economic viability of the olive mill wastewater for Arthrospira platensis production. More precisely, growth rate, time of division, and characterization (lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and so forth) of microalgae are evaluated. The results obtained from the techno-economic analysis show that the integration of the systems makes it possible to efficiently exploit the inorganic nutrients of the olive mill wastewater for the cultivation of Arthrospira platensis. In particular, the quality of the obtained biomass complies with the food grade regulations, whereas avoided costs for the olive mill wastewater disposal bring a reduction of 70% in the biomass production cost.