Booms and skimmers for oil spill recovery: Perspective analysis from lab scale to practical applications

Oil spills cause considerable environmental issues owing to their intricate chemical properties and the complexities involved in their remediation. The choice of a suitable cleaning procedure is challenging and influenced by several factors, including the type of oil, spill site, degree of pollution, meteorological conditions, and regulatory requirements. Among the various remediation strategies, mechanical oil recovery, including procedures such as booming and skimming, is the most commonly employed and the most environmentally friendly tactic. Therefore, this paper provides a thorough examination of current boom and skimmer technologies utilized for oil spill recovery and the particular scenarios in which they are applied. The impacts of oil spills on socio-economic activity and the ecology, together with the regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concerning oil spills, were thoroughly discussed in the initial phase. In the second phase, the methodologies for oil spill recovery utilizing several boom and skimmer types, ranging from laboratory size to real applications, were thoroughly examined based on investigations over their technical specifications and suitability in operating contexts. Finally, the constraints and future outlook for oil spill recovery methods utilizing boom and skimmer technologies, in addition to policy suggestions, were thoroughly analyzed. In brief, this work aims to elucidate the application of booms and skimmers in the spilled oil recovery to promote the sustainability of marine operations.