Performance of Bioremediation Strategy in Waste Lubricating Oil Pollutants: A Review

Abstract

The rapid growth of industrialization commences the utilization of lubrication oil in various machinery and automobile sectors. Waste Lubricating Oil (WLO) is the used oil which is released by industries and vehicles as a waste product. The toxicity of WLO is due to the lubricants of the machine associated with asphaltene content, residual carbons, heavy metals, and other dirt materials. The elemental content of WLO is calcium, magnesium, lead, iron, and chromium, containing 1020, 367, 16, 36, and 180 ppm, respectively. These oils are usually generated from motor garages, accidents, cement industry, textile industry, and food industry, mining industry, etc. Disposal of WLO directly into the environment, especially rivers, seas, and lakes, causes serious problems. WLO containing heavy metals and toxic hydrocarbon pollutants has various impacts on the soil by reducing water holding capacity, moisture content, activities of microorganisms etc. As a result, it has a negative effect on human health by triggering disorders in a wide range of human organs. When these metallic wastes come into touch with the skin, it both irritates and sensitizes it. It has also several impacts on aquatic life, such as a decrease in fertility rate and growth of aquatic animals. Physicochemical methods can’t recommend the treatment of WLO due to the involvement of secondary pollutants allied with these processes. Bioremediation can be effectively applied to the management of waste lubricating oil pollutants by utilizing natural or enhanced microbial activity to degrade and transform the contaminants present in the oil. In order to address the issues with traditional approaches, this review concentrated on the origins and key pollutants of WLO, its effects on humans and the environment, and the need of a sustainable bioremediation plan.

Keywords:

• Bioremediation
• heavy metals
• hydrocarbons
• waste lubricating oil

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful to the Department of Chemical Engineering, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Sarang. We are thankful to Asmita Mishra for her continuous support throughout the process. The authors are also thankful to Laxmi Priya Swain for her support to develop this manuscript. IDB is also thankful to Odisha state higher education council, OURIIP seed fund research project (22SF/CE/022 Chemical Engineering).

Author contributions

Jaydeep Kanungo: Conceptualization, writing original draft, validation. Teyaswini Sahoo: Conceptualization, writing original draft, validation. Manisha Bal: Conceptualization, writing-review and editing. Ipsita Dipamitra Behera: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing - review and editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Oshec, Seed Fund Research Project.