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Comparative Examination of the Olive Mill Wastewater Biodegradation Process by Various Wood-Rot Macrofungi

Summary

This research examined how different types of wood-decomposing fungi could help clean up toxic wastewater from olive oil production. The study found that certain fungi, especially Abortiporus biennis, can effectively break down harmful compounds in this waste through enzyme production, making it less toxic to plants and the environment. This has important real-world implications: • Provides an environmentally-friendly solution for treating olive mill waste that currently poses pollution problems • Demonstrates potential for using natural biological processes instead of harsh chemicals for waste treatment • Could help olive oil producers reduce their environmental impact while potentially creating valuable byproducts • Offers a sustainable approach that could be especially valuable for small, rural olive mills • Shows promise for developing similar fungal treatments for other types of agricultural and industrial waste

Background

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) from three-phase centrifugal olive mills creates major environmental problems due to its high content of toxic polyphenolic compounds. The seasonal operation, small size and scattered distribution of olive mills makes effective management challenging. While various treatment methods exist, biological approaches using microorganisms are particularly promising as they can both detoxify the effluent and generate value-added products.

Objective

To comparatively evaluate a wide variety of mushroom fungi for OMW biotreatment and establish effective strains for degrading OMW. The process was assessed by measuring ligninolytic enzyme activities of qualified organisms at different time periods and analyzing their correlation with OMW decolorization, reduction of phenolics, and decrease of plant toxicity.

Results

Abortiporus biennis was the most effective strain, reducing phenolics by 92% and color by 64%, followed by Pleurotus djamor and Irpex lacteus. Laccase production strongly correlated with biodegradation parameters for Hapalopilus croceus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Pleurotus species. Manganese peroxidases showed strong correlation for A. biennis and I. lacteus. Early enzyme production enhanced OMW treatment efficiency. Plant seed germination increased less dramatically, indicating phenolics are only partly responsible for OMW toxicity.

Conclusion

The selected wood-rot macrofungi effectively colonized and degraded OMW through efficient enzyme production mechanisms. A. biennis performed best, followed by I. lacteus, G. carnosum and Pleurotus species. Total phenol reduction and decolorization correlated significantly with enzyme activities. While seed germination improvement was less pronounced, it showed high correlation with other biodegradation parameters. This approach shows promise as a sustainable methodology for OMW treatment.
  • Published in:BioMed Research International,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Research Study,
  • Source: 10.1155/2014/482937
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