Environmental impacts of oil spills and their remediation by magnetic nanomaterials

Marine oil spills are one of the major sources of water pollution causing huge environmental damage and economic destruction. They disturbs the ecological framework of the oceans and other water bodies causing major losses to the aquatic biodiversity. The risk associated with oil spills raise a lot of policy issues on the safe transport of oil volumes. Efficient removal of these spills is an absolute necessity for the protection of the oceanic environment and life. Onshore and offshore oil response strategies with continuous monitoring systems must be applied at the spill site to minimize the harmful impacts on the environment and human health. Currently used remediation technologies are still not effective to completely restore the polluted marine environment to its normal ecology. Nanotechnology is proving to be a valuable tool in cleaning up of these oil spills or leaks in the water by utilizing magnetic nanomaterials such as functionalized super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), magnetic nanocomposites and magnetic carbon nano tubes (CNTs). Functionalization of nanoparticles using different functional moieties such as organic non-polymeric and inorganic molecules, polymers and polysaccharides renders them with novel features like enhanced adsorption capacity and high oil removal efficiency. Innumerable researches have emerged in developing novel counter measures to mitigate the dangerous impacts of oil spills. The present review emphasizes the environmental impacts of major oil spills in maritime world. This work also compiles the research conducted by various researchers and scientists in the removal of the spilled oil from water using magnetic nano-adsorbents.