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Treated Olive Mill Wastewater Effects on Soil Properties and Plant Growth

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Abstract

Olive-oil production has a vital impact on the socioeconomic development in most Mediterranean countries, where 97.5 % of the world oil is produced. However, the olive-oil extraction process generates considerable quantities of an agro-industrial effluent, olive mill wastewater (OMW), which has negative impact on the environment and biological life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of OMW treated by different technologies in irrigation and determine its effect on the plant growth and soil quality parameters. Different technologies were used to treat the OMW, the resultant treated OMW was used to irrigate the maize planted in the pot experiment. The results indicated that UOMW increased soil salinity and reduced plant growth, while the treated OMW by different technologies improved plant growth and resulted in lower soil pH. The impact on other soil properties varied depending on the techniques used for treatments. Although treated OMW enhanced plant growth compared with the untreated, the plant growth remained lower than that obtained using the potable water with fertilizers, indicating lack of some essential plant nutrients.

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Acknowledgments

This work was prepared in the framework of the project ”Mediterranean Cooperation in the Treatment and Valorisation of Olive Mill Wastewater (MEDOLICO)” which is funded by the European Union under the ENPI Cross-Border Cooperation Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. MEDOLICO total budget is 1.9 million Euro and it is co-financed through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (90 %) and national funds of the countries participating in the project (10 %). The authors acknowledge also all the partners participating in MEDOLICO project for providing us with the treated OMW using different technologies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources and The Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

    Munir J. M. Rusan & Ammar A. Albalasmeh

  2. Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Hanan I. Malkawi

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  1. Munir J. M. Rusan
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  2. Ammar A. Albalasmeh
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Correspondence to Munir J. M. Rusan.

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M. Rusan, M.J., Albalasmeh, A.A. & Malkawi, H.I. Treated Olive Mill Wastewater Effects on Soil Properties and Plant Growth. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 135 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-2837-8

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