Recovery and Removal of Phenolic Compounds from Olive Mill Wastewater

Biophenols have attracted increasing attention during the past few years due to their biological activities and natural abundance and are potential targets for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Olive mill waste (OMW) is rich in biophenols and typically contains 98% of the total phenols in the olive fruit, making value addition to OMW an attractive enterprise. The phenolic profile of OMW is complex, yet this complexity has not been fully exploited in the valorization of the waste. Most work on the bioactivity of OMW has focused on antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The analytical techniques used to identify and quantify active biophenols are also reviewed.