A study of chemical and microbiological characteristics of olive mill waste water in Morocco

Abstract

Olive mill waste water samples from different traditional mills were analyzed for their microbiota and the physicochemical characteristic. A survey of the most frequent microorganisms including standard plate count (SPG), counts of the indicator microorganisms (total and fecal coliforms and enterococci) staphylococci, Salmonella, sporeforming bacteria (Clostridium and Bacillus), yeasts and molds and the lipolytic microorganisms. The physicochemical analysis grouped the determination of pH, salinity, density, conductivity, alkalinity, acidity, total dry matter, non volatile dry matter, suspended solids, organic carbon, ammoniacal nitrogen, organic nitrogen, fat, polyphenols, polyphosphates, sodium and potassium and the BOD and COD. Results showed that the physicochemical factors were higher than the reported values in other countries. The microbial load was low and mainly made of yeasts and molds as well as the lactic acid bacteria. A net difference between the traditional mill samples and the industrial samples was observed for both analyses.