Environmental Implications of Energy Sources: A Review on Technologies for Cleaning Oil-Contaminated Ecosystems

Maria M. Gertsen (), Viacheslav A. Arlyapov, Leonid V. Perelomov, Anna S. Kharkova, Anastasiia N. Golysheva, Yurii M. Atroshchenko, Anna Maria Cardinale and Andrea Pietro Reverberi ()
Additional contact information
Maria M. Gertsen: Laboratory of Soil Chemistry and Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Lenin Ave., 125, Tula 300026, Russia
Viacheslav A. Arlyapov: Research Center “BioChemTech”, Tula State University, Tula, Lenin Ave., 92, Tula 300012, Russia
Leonid V. Perelomov: Laboratory of Soil Chemistry and Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Lenin Ave., 125, Tula 300026, Russia
Anna S. Kharkova: Research Center “BioChemTech”, Tula State University, Tula, Lenin Ave., 92, Tula 300012, Russia
Anastasiia N. Golysheva: Research Center “BioChemTech”, Tula State University, Tula, Lenin Ave., 92, Tula 300012, Russia
Yurii M. Atroshchenko: Laboratory of Soil Chemistry and Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Lenin Ave., 125, Tula 300026, Russia
Anna Maria Cardinale: DCCI—Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, Genoa University, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genoa, Italy
Andrea Pietro Reverberi: DCCI—Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, Genoa University, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genoa, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-31

Abstract: This review analyzes the main methods for cleaning up oil pollution in natural ecosystems, with a particular focus on the synergy between chemical and microbiological techniques for environmental remediation. While biological methods are a green and inexpensive soil remediation technique, they have a major limitation in their inability to clean up high concentrations of toxic contaminants. The poor performance of chemical methods stems from the high cost of chemicals and concerns over their negative and toxic effects on the environment. Physical methods also have high costs due to energy consumption and the need for additional treatment of gases generated during decontamination, making them ineffective for soil remediation. The main principle of bioremediation is based on microorganisms’ ability to degrade complex organic compounds, such as petroleum. This process is described in this review. This combination of methods allows for a higher level of decontamination of soil and water ecosystems, even against pollutants that are usually resistant to degradation, such as oil derivatives. While existing methods for cleaning oil-contaminated ecosystems are highly effective, they require significant material costs to implement. Additionally, the review discusses how the joint use of current and future biotechnology techniques can lead to the development of an effective set of strategies to protect soil and water systems from oil pollution. The reviewed studies show that a hybrid biotechnological approach is the most effective remediation method. When biological decontamination methods are adopted, the optimized combination of different remediation strategies can overcome the limitations of each technique, allowing efficiencies of even more than 70% to be achieved, given that the choice still depends on the type of contaminant, its concentration, and the properties of the receiving substrate.

Keywords: oil; oil products; sorbents; remediation; remediation technologies; oil degrading microorganisms; oil refining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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