Valorization and Treatment of Oily Wastewaters From Agro-Industries Using Lipases: An Overview

Abstract

Oily wastewater from agro-industries can cause severe environmental and public health damages if unproperly treated. The conventional methods have several limitations for the treatment of oily wastewaters since the oil fraction can cause pipe clogging and biomass washout during the biological step. Based on this, the use of lipases can increase the oil removal efficiency of the treatments, minimizing operational problems, and improving the performance of the biological process. Lipases can also be used for the valorization of the oily wastewaters, transforming these waste streams into valuable compounds, such as biodiesel, lubricants, antioxidant agents, etc. The use of wastes for the production of value-added compounds follows the circular economy approach, minimizing the generation of residues and potential environmental liabilities. Thus, this study aims to give a general overview of the main topics related to the treatment and valorization of oily wastewaters using lipases. The main characteristics of oily wastewaters from agro-industries are addressed, as well as the most used conventional techniques for their treatment. Some relevant information about the enzyme lipase is also discussed to give the reader a background about how these enzymes can be applied for the treatment and transformation of oily wastes.