Evolution of oil spill remediation technologies from conventional to emerging solutions

Abstract

Oil spills pose significant environmental and socioeconomic challenges in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, where petroleum hydrocarbons can adversely affect aquatic organisms, coastal habitats, and farmland food products. This review provides an evolutionary overview of oil spill remediation technologies, from conventional approaches, including mechanical, thermal, chemical, and biological methods, with emphasis on their operational principles, effectiveness, advantages, and environmental limitations, to emerging precision-based bioremediation, including omics-based biosurfactant remediation, biosurfactant-enhanced bioremediation, and engineered microbial consortia bioremediation. Particular attention is given to the role of hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms in petroleum biodegradation, highlighting the mechanisms of microbial hydrocarbon utilization and degradation.