Outside the box… the olive pit cleans industrial wastewater

Out of the box… olive pits clean industrial wastewater

 Before talking about the olive kernel and its role in preserving the environment and supporting sustainable development, we must realize that waste is one of the biggest environmental problems in the entire world, which has made scientific research in the field of environment and development look at different wastes in a new and innovative way. This has resulted in many technologies capable ofrecyclingsome of this waste; To preserve human health and the environment; So how is this?

The industrial sector has developed since the first industrial revolution, which has had a negative impact on the environment around us, as factories now have drains into which harmful liquid metals are dumped, especially the drains of factories specializing in the production of paint and batteries. Which leads to pollution of water sources near these industries or the environment in general. So Earth Guards will highlight a new way to address this serious global problem, as an “outside the box” approach.

Heavy metal pollution

Heavy metals – such as chromium, nickel, copper, and lead – are considered the most dangerous threat to the environment around us, which has forced humans to adhere to specific standards to control the concentrations of these metals. So that it does not later sneak into the human food chain.

Hence, we find that many industries whose outputs generate many materials that are harmful to the environment, such as lead ions. If a person is exposed to a percentage of these metals – even if it is a small percentage – his health is severely damaged. A person whose food or drink contains lead – for example – may suffer from anemia, damage to the nervous system, and other serious diseases.

These previous reasons prompted researchers from the Environmental Research Center at the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan to try to devise a scientific method that would enable them to extract lead ions – and other metals – from industrial wastewater through some waste, specifically olive pits.

Environmentally friendly waste

In recent years, concerns have increased about the negative environmental impact of solid waste, including the waste left behind by olive industries, as olive pits become waste after the production of olive oil, which is solid waste and environmental pollutants. Because they do not decompose easily through natural decomposition, and their disposal creates a severe environmental problem in many countries.

Hence, recent scientific developments have revealed that these solid wastes can be used to help the industrial sector get rid of the harmful substances they leave behind, which provides a good opportunity to get rid of them in a sustainable manner. There are countries that have large quantities of olive waste, led by Jordan, which is considered one of the Mediterranean countries that most produces this waste.

The olive kernel is a bio-absorbent, capable of absorbing heavy metals from industrial waste. In the past, some of these metals could be extracted through some techniques such as electrical deposition or ion exchange, but these were techniques that were not capable of extracting large rates of these metals. Because of their diversity and differences, the researchers worked on a new method, which is theAdsorptionmethod. It is an effective method for removing lead ions – and other metals – from industrial wastewater at high rates.

The new method is to use olive kernel waste as a material capable of adsorbing heavy liquid metals. After extracting the olive oil, the inner core remains, which is collected, then washed, dried with deionized water (removed of salts), and then dried at a temperature of 104 degrees Celsius, until granular particles are formed. These granular particles then become a biological absorbent material, ready to absorb metals from industrial waste after isolating them from air and water in airtight containers.

Sustainability of the olive kernel

At this stage, the olive kernel enters into a physico-chemical process, and this process helps to absorb harmful metal ions by binding them to the surface of the bioabsorbent of biological origin, which in our case is the olive kernel.

It is a fast, highly efficient, and inexpensive process, and it has many benefits in more than one direction. While this method works to get rid of an environmental and economic burden in a sustainable manner, it is also a good helper for the industrial sector, as it works to purify the environments near factories, and preserve – in general – the environment and its resources, and all of this reflects the essence of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal No. (9) Industry, Innovation and Structures Basic.

In conclusion, Earth Guards believes that such ideas – ideas from outside the box – are an important opportunity for green transformation in all sectors, especially innovative ideas that lead to many benefits at the same time and at all levels. In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).