Sustainable recovery of phenolic compounds from olive mill wastewater. An LCA evaluation

The disposal of olive mill wastewater is one of the main environmental problems of olive oil production. The interest in the recovery of olive mill wastewater has increased in recent years, as their purification from potentially harmful molecules, such as phenolic compounds. The aim of this work was to study the sustainable recoveries of phenolic compounds from olive mill wastewater, through an integrated Life Cycle Assessment and Eco-Care Matrix evaluation. The assessment was carried out on two recoveries: the first one is a chemical approach with the use of gold nanoparticles while the second one is a biological approach by using the laccase enzyme. From the combined analysis, results that the chemical methodology appears more sustainable than the biological one in the economic, human health and environmental areas.