Nano-enhanced Bioremediation for Oil Spills: A Review

Abstract

Oil seepage and spills have lasting detrimental effects on the environment, especially on nearby marine ecosystems. Despite quick and safe removal of contaminating oil being of utmost importance, remediation methods have remained largely unchanged over the last 20+ years. Removal methods such as skimmers, in situ burning, and sorbents can be difficult to implement in inclement weather. Marine microorganisms consume spilled oil as a primary energy source in a method known as bioremediation. Recently the introduction of nanoparticles to areas contaminated by oil has emerged as a potential method to enhance the efficacy of oil degradation by marine microorganisms. Nanoparticles have been primarily utilized as magnetic sorbents but can also act as emulsifiers, increasing the bioavailability of the oil by giving microbes a surface (droplets) to which they can attach and facilitate proliferation. Emulsification increases the oil−water interfacial area and often leads to an increase in the amount of oil degraded by microorganisms. Nanoenhanced bioremediation is effective on a variety of oil compositions and is minimally impacted by weather. It offers a sustainable alternative to traditional remediation methods, i.e., chemical dispersants, sorbents, and in situ burning, which are often toxic and ineffective.

Rice Straw as a Natural Sorbent in a Filter System as an Approach to Bioremediate Diesel Pollution

“…All experiments were carried out in triplicate, with the mean value and standard error of the mean (SEM) calculated. The efficiency of diesel absorption (%) was calculated as shown in Equation (2).…”

“…Despite being fully commercialized, synthetic sorbents are mostly made from polypropylene fibers that are not environmentally friendly and often lead to secondary contamination [1]. Natural organic materials such as moss, straw, sawdust, coco peat, cogon grass, cotton and hay can be used as sorbents [2][3][4][5]. A novel natural oil sorbent, nonwoven cotton batting, was reported both to have a much better oil sorption capacity than synthetic products, and to be environmentally sustainable and simple to employ in practical applications [1].…”

Eco-friendly adsorbents based on abietic acid, boswellic acid, and chitosan/magnetite for removing waste oil from the surface of the water

“…There are nine million barrels of crude oil leaks in water bodies each year via different processes such as oil drilling, extraction, transportation, refinement, and accidental leakage (Liu et al 2021b ). The essential techniques for cleaning the oil waste were based on physical and chemical techniques like skimmers, barriers, booms, dissolved air flotation, dispersant or surfactant spray, and synthetic or biomass-based adsorbents, whereas there are other techniques, such as biological, which depend on bioaugmentation and thermal by in situ burning of waste oil (Pete et al 2021 ). The weather influences the structure and its rate of degradation (Madison et al 2020 ).…”

Nanotechnology for the bioremediation of heavy metals and metalloids

“…Nanotechnology is a branch capable of improving the activity and effectiveness of conventional remediation and bioremediation methods by accelerating the contaminant transformation rate because of the smaller sizes of the nanoparticles [31]. Integration of nanotechnology and bioremediation technique is a feasible method that helps in nurturing the environment through the removal of contaminants as well as accelerates the rate of advancement [32,33]. In simple words, the process of removal of contaminants such as heavy metals, metalloids, organic, and inorganic pollutants from the site of contamination using nano-sized particles or materials synthesized by plant, fungi, or bacteria by the aid of nanotechnology is known as nanobioremediation.…”