Olive mill wastewater phytoremediation employing economically important woody plantsOlive mill wastewater phytoremediation employing economically important woody plants Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2024-04-302022enIn this study two plant species, Punica granatum L. and Myrtus communis L., have been tested as candidates for phytoremediation of olive mill wastewater (OMW) through recirculation in soil pilot units, according to the proposed patented technology by Santori and Cicalini [EP1216963 A. 26 Jun 2002]. Wastewater was treated in batches of low to high organics strength (COD: 2 700–45 700 mg/L) during summer months of two consecutive years. Dynamics of the most important wastewater parameters were investigated, and corresponding removal rates were estimated. During treatment of low organic load OMW, average removal rate of organics, phenolics, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were 0.68 g-COD/kg-soil d, 0.073 g-TPh/kg-soil d, 0.033 g-TN/kg-soil d and 0.0074 g-TP/kg-soil d respectively and plants proved to be tolerant to the OMW. During treatment of high organic load OMW removal rates were roughly 10-fold higher although phytotoxic symptoms were observed. Plants were found to contribute greatly to the OMW treatment process since organics removal rates in pilot units were found to be at least 10-fold higher than in wastewater treatment in non-vegetated soil. Plant species with high added value products such as pomegranate and myrtle trees were used in this study, improving the circular economy potential of the aforementioned technology. Moreover, its efficiency has been demonstrated by quantification of the overall removal rates of key constituents as well as the contribution of the plants in the OMW treatment.Financial support by the project “INVALOR: Research Infrastructure for Waste Valorization and Sustainable Management” (MIS 5002495) which is implemented under the Action “Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure”, funded by the Operational Programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (NSRF 2014–2020) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) is greatly appreciated.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Journal of Environmental Management302 Petousi Margarita Πετουση Μαργαριτα Kalogerakis Nikos Καλογερακης Νικος Elsevier Olive mill wastewater Phytoremediation Punica granatum L. Myrtus communis L Organic matter Phenols