Advancements in bilge wastewater treatment: A review for current and future trends

Bilge wastewater (BW) from ships poses a significant threat to coastal ecosystems due to its recalcitrant nature. BW is mainly composed of organic hydrocarbons and oils together with surfactants, heavy metals, and other organic compounds but oil is the sole compound regulated by international law with a discharge limit of 15 mg/L. Therefore, BW treatment is a crucial aspect of marine pollution control and environmental protection. In this sense, BW must be treated on board or shipped to treatment plants on land. While conventional methods like gravity separation and adsorption have been used to treat BW, their inability to effectively treat complex mixtures has encouraged researchers to investigate advanced alternatives. Thus, new, cost-efficient, and sustainable technologies to treat BW are required such as those based on biological approaches. Moreover, integrating bio-based methods with existing technologies can provide comprehensive and eco-friendly treatment solutions. This review compiles various documents published regarding the treatment of BW, pointing out the necessity of developing new cost-efficient and environmentally friendly approaches to treat it. To the best knowledge of the authors this is the first comprehensive review on this very latest topic. Therefore, this review will be a significant contribution to the literature in terms of conservation of the environment, reduction in water pollution, and protection of the marine ecosystems.