Bruno Bresci

Treatment of olive oil industry wastes

Abstract The waste products derived from olive oil extraction are an aqueous effluent (vegetation water) and a solid residue, mainly containing the olive skin and stone (olive husk). Biological purification of the vegetation water is particularly difficult because it contains solids in suspension, and a high concentration of polluting organic compounds and mineral salts. In addition, since the recovery of oil by solvent extraction from the olive husk is no longer a profitable process, the olive husk has become a waste product that must be disposed of. In this work, samples of vegetation water (VW) from olive oil mills were separated by evaporation into an aqueous liquid (80–90% of the initial volume), that could then be purified by a traditional biological process, and a residue in which about 98% of the organic load was concentrated. The properties of the concentrated VW residue and of the olive husk suggested the possibility of using a mixture of the two as an efficient fuel to provide the heat for the evaporation stage.

Synthesis and characterization of copolymers containing biphenylyl rings linked to the main chain through spacers of various lengths

Abstract Copolymers between 1-(4-biphenylyloxy carbonyl)ethylene (I), 1-[2-(4-biphenylyloxy)ethyloxy carbonyl]ethylene (II) and 1-[6-(4-biphenylyloxy carbonyl)]ethylene (III) were synthesized by radical polymerization. They were characterized by DSC, TOA, RX and viscosity techniques. The smectic order of poly(I) and the crystalline order of poly(III) depend on the amounts of comonomers incorporated. The obtained data demonstrate that the presence of quantities of comonomers exceeding 10% leads to complete destruction of smectic and crystalline order in poly(I) and poly(III) respectively.

Treatment of cooling water in the glass industry

Abstract The treatment of cooling water containing glass from glass manufacturing plants has been studied in order to remove the fine particles of glass in suspension by flocculation, sedimentation and filtration. The treatment process proposed allows the recycling of these waters; it may suggest a more efficient management and use of water in the glass industry. Among the different types of additives investigated, a particular type of polyacrylamide has shown the best results, both in the capacity for clarification and sedimentation of the fine suspended particles, and in the feasibility of the filtration process.