Environmental Impact Associated with Oil and Grease and Their Emerging Mitigation Strategies

A large volume of traditional crude oil is still transported through the ocean from production sites to utilization areas around the world. Unconventional petroleum products also cross pelagic natural habitats: for example, diluted bitumen from Canada's oil sands is transported through the Pacific coast to the USA and Asia. Oil and grease (O&G) concentrations in industrial wastewaters and the environment have been reported as rising, with increasing negative effects on the environment. The primary sources of O&G contaminations in aquatic and terrestrial environments are use of O&G in high-demand oil-processed foods, establishment and expansion of oil refinery and petrochemical plants around the world, and spills of O&G into environment during transportation. In most cases, O&G may be cleaned up by the environment's natural processes (such as photooxidation, biodegradation, and evaporation). The bulk oil is removed by naturally existing bacterial populations via one of the several oil weathering methods, which is why bioremediation has gained a lot of attention. Thus, with an ongoing need to evaluate the toxicological effects of chronic and disastrous petroleum spills on marine wildlife, several microorganisms capable of degrading O&G have been identified and may be potential candidates for bioaugmentation products. Therefore, this review focuses on the potential of using microbial candidates as an effective solution to remove the presence of O&G in various wastewaters and soil environments. The review also summarizes the current understanding of the extent and effects of O&G as well as hydrocarbon spills in aquatic and terrestrial environments, the function of microorganisms on degradation of these O&G, and current gaps in knowledge. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024.