Signorello Lara, Arena Mattia Pia, Brugnoli Marcello, Romeo Flora V, Gullo Maria
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA)-Research Center for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, 95024 Acireale, Italy.
Foods. 2025 Jun 21;14(13):2170. doi: 10.3390/foods14132170.
Olive mill wastewater is a by-product of olive oil extraction, characterized by a high concentration of organic matter, which presents a significant environmental challenge if not properly managed. This study was aimed at valorizing olive mill wastewater through selective fermentations to produce acetic beverages with low or no alcohol content. Olive mill wastewaters at three different dilutions (100%, 75% and 50%) were inoculated with UMCC 855 for alcoholic fermentation. The resulting alcoholic product, with 75% olive mill wastewater, was then used as a substrate for acetic acid fermentation by UMCC 1754, employing both static and submerged acetification systems. The results showed that, at the end of the static acetification process, no residual ethanol was detected and that high concentrations of acetic and gluconic acid (46.85 and 44.87 g/L, respectively) were observed. In the submerged fermentation system, the final ethanol concentration was 24.74 g/L; the produced organic acids content reached 31.63 g/L of acetic acid and 39.90 g/L of gluconic acid. Furthermore, chemical analyses revealed that fermentation enhanced the antioxidant activity of olive mill wastewater. These results suggest promising insights for the valorization of olive mill wastewater.
橄榄油厂废水是橄榄油提取过程中的副产品，其特点是有机物浓度高，如果管理不当，会带来重大的环境挑战。本研究旨在通过选择性发酵将橄榄油厂废水转化为低酒精含量或无酒精含量的醋酸饮料。用UMCC 855对三种不同稀释度（100%、75%和50%）的橄榄油厂废水进行酒精发酵接种。然后，将含有75%橄榄油厂废水的酒精发酵产物用作UMCC 1754进行醋酸发酵的底物，采用静态和深层醋酸发酵系统。结果表明，在静态醋酸发酵过程结束时，未检测到残留乙醇，且观察到高浓度的醋酸和葡萄糖酸（分别为46.85和44.87 g/L）。在深层发酵系统中，最终乙醇浓度为24.74 g/L；产生的有机酸含量达到31.63 g/L的醋酸和39.90 g/L的葡萄糖酸。此外，化学分析表明，发酵增强了橄榄油厂废水的抗氧化活性。这些结果为橄榄油厂废水的资源化利用提供了有前景的见解。
