Types of Bioremediation Methods in Removing Petroleum Compounds from Water: a systematic review

Today, the water resources contamination due to petroleum compounds and its health effects on human and the environment is considered as an important issue. The removal of these pollutants is done by various methods among which, biological methods are superior due to their cost effectiveness, easy access, etc. In this study, a variety of biological methods have been investigated to remove petroleum compounds from water.

Keywords and phrases such as Bioremediation, petroleum compounds, Bio adsorbents, petroleum removal, petroleum bioremediation, petroleum phytoremediation and their Persian equivalents were searched in the databases include; Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Magiran, ResearchGate, SID, Wiley to find content related to the current study and after reviewing the available studies, 28 of the most relevant articles from 2018 to 2023 were reviewed for the intended study.

According to the research carried out, bioremediation and the use of natural adsorbents along with native microorganisms that decompose hydrocarbons are noted to remove petroleum compounds. Although these methods require to long time and adaptation of microorganisms to environmental conditions but due to benefits such as high efficiency, biocompatibility, safety, cheapness and availability, they are recommended over other existing methods to remove petroleum pollution from water. Furthermore, to increase the speed of bioremediation by microorganisms, strategies of biological stimulation and reinforcement can be used, which increases the growth of petroleum hydrocarbon decomposers.

Considering the importance of health and preserving human health and the environment, the removal of petroleum pollutants from the aquatic environment is very important. A review of the biological methods used to remove these pollutants shows the use of microorganisms that decompose petroleum compounds, that adapted to environmental conditions and parameters such as temperature, pH, etc. over time and generate biosurfactant, is recommended in the long term.