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Phytotoxicity assessment of olive mill wastewater treated by different technologies: effect on seed germination of maize and tomato

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Abstract

The phytotoxicity effect of olive mill wastewater (OMWW) treated in a combined system regrouping pretreatment by filtration on olive stones and coagulation-flocculation, and anaerobic digestion (AD) on seed germination of maize and tomato was evaluated through germination tests in petri dishes and growth tests in pots. Three samples, referenced as AD-40, AD-60, and AD-80, were collected from the anaerobic reactor operating with an influent at 40, 60, and 80% OMWW/water (% v/v). Concentrations between 25 and 100% were used for maize and between 5 and 25% were used for tomato using raw and pretreated samples, while anaerobic samples were used without dilution. For maize, 100% and 75% OMWW were very phytotoxic and completely prohibited seed germination, while phytotoxicity was decreased following dilution at 25% and 50% OMWW. Maize germinability was found highly enhanced when watered with anaerobic samples. For tomato, high dilution was required to reduce the phytotoxicity of raw and pretreated OMWW and a high relative germination percentage was registered at 5, 10, and 15% OMWW, while for samples anaerobically treated, a high phytotoxicity is still observed. Growth tests, showed more favorable results for maize watered with raw and pretreated samples at 25% OMWW and with biological samples. For tomato and with the exception of 25% OMWW and AD-80, seeds respond positively to all samples. It was concluded that if the OMWW will be used for irrigating maize, it could be directly used after anaerobic digestion, while for tomato further dilution is required. The phenolic profile analysis of the tested samples coupled with the results of the germination tests showed that the OMWW phytotoxicity appears to be determined by not only the monomeric phenols but also by other toxic components unaffected by the applied treatments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the International Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (IB-BMBF) within the framework of the Moroccan-German program of scientific research (PMARS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, Unity of Methodology and Environment, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, B.P 2390, Marrakech, Morocco

    Ghizlane Enaime, Abdelaziz Baçaoui & Abdelrani Yaacoubi

  2. Polyvalent Laboratory of Research and Development, Polydisciplinary Faculty, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Béni Mellal, Morocco

    Majdouline Belaqziz

  3. Institute of Urban Water Management and Environmental Engineering, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany

    Marc Wichern & Manfred Lübken

Authors
  1. Ghizlane Enaime
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  2. Abdelaziz Baçaoui
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  3. Abdelrani Yaacoubi
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  4. Majdouline Belaqziz
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  5. Marc Wichern
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  6. Manfred Lübken
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Correspondence to Ghizlane Enaime.

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Responsible editor: Gangrong Shi

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Enaime, G., Baçaoui, A., Yaacoubi, A. et al. Phytotoxicity assessment of olive mill wastewater treated by different technologies: effect on seed germination of maize and tomato. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 8034–8045 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06672-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06672-z

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