**Selection of Promising Bacterial Strains as Potential Tools for the Bioremediation of Olive Mill Wastewater**

Daniela Campaniello, Antonio Bevilacqua, Milena Sinigaglia and Maria Rosaria Corbo

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60896

## **Abstract**

The main objective of this paper was the selection of promising bacterial strains to be used as potential tools to remove phenols in olive mill wastewater (OMW) or in other food wastes. Therefore, 12 OMW samples were analyzed and 119 isolates were collected. After a preliminary screening on a medium containing vanillic and cinnamic acids, three isolates were selected to evaluate their viability in presence of different compounds (cinnamic, vanillic and caffeic acids, rutin, tyrosol and oleuropein) and a possible bioremediation effect. The isolates generally survived with phenols added and exerted a significant bioremediation activity in some samples (reduction of phenols by 20%). The last step was focused on the evaluation of the combined effects of pH, cinnamic and vanillic acids on the viability of a selected isolate (13M); the combination of the acids exerted a strong effect on the target, but alkaline pH played a protective role.

**Keywords:** Bioremediation, phenol degradation, phenolic compounds, olive mill wastewater
