THE USE OF DIATOMACEOUS ROCKS OF GREEK ORIGIN AS ABSORBENTS OF OLIVE-OIL WASTERS

Abstract

Diatomite is a multifunctional industrial mineral, having commercial interest in the food/agricultural and the construction sectors and also in environmental applications. Certain diatomite deposits worldwide are used as absorbents and filtering media in industrial scale. In Greece, several types of diatomaceous deposits (calcareous, clayey or amorphous phases-rich) occur in marine or lacustrine Tertiary basins. Bulk samples originated from western Macedonia, Thessaly and the islands of Samos and Milos were characterized, tested and compared concerning their absorption ability against olive mill wastes. The results of the current research show insignificant variations in the absorption ability of the tested Greek diatomites exhibiting equal or better behavior than some of the commercially used absorbents, either diatomaceous, or clayey. Hence, the Greek raw materials could find applications in the prevention of seashores and river banks pollution from the acidic olive-oil wastes.