Biocomposite spheres based on aluminum oxide dispersed with orange-peel powder for adsorption of phenol from batch membrane fraction of olive mill wastewater

Abstract

A novel multi-function material from secondary resources was synthesized using a facile protocol to convert available 'no value waste' into a friendly, cost-effective, and highly selective new filtering material suitable for usage in developing countries. This newly prepared material was used to separate valuable phenols like hydroxytyrosol from toxic phenol. Orange-peel aluminum biocomposite was synthesized via hydrothermal method, characterized, used to manufacture alginate spheres (Alg/OP-Al), and tested in batch and fixed-bed conditions. Batch results showed that phenol exhibited single (39.60 mg g(-1)) binary (92.75 mg g(-1)) sequence, while hydroxytyrosol displayed single (41.50 mg g(-1)) binary (40.00 mg g(-1)) sequence. The fixedbed approach showed that during the intermediate stage, adsorbed hydroxytyrosol molecules were substituted by the influent phenol molecules, as a result, hydroxytyrosol outlet concentrations were higher than the inlet ones. Alg/OP-Al spheres allowed efficient separation of phenol and hydroxytyrosol with up to 90% purity from OMWW.