Removal of Kerosene from Wastewater: Current Trends and Emerging Perspectives for Environmental Remediation

Kerosene spills from industrial processes, oil spills, and improper waste disposal can pose significant risks to human health and the environment due to their toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation. This review will provide an integrated overview of kerosene removal from wastewater, drawing on the most recent developments, material design recommendations, scalability concepts, and possible future directions. Conventional treatment processes such as adsorption, membrane separation, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), and biodegradation are assessed critically in light of performance, scalability, and environmental applicability. The review focuses on the synthesis of novel materials such as nanocomposites, porous materials, functionalized polymers, and bio-inspired materials based on designs of high selectivity, reusability, and improved degradation/separation efficiencies. In addition, some emerging trends are highlighted with the review, including the use of cost–effective and sustainable materials, and the circular economy. Given the substantial knowledge- and problem-gap issues, the goal of this research is to provide pathways for researchers to develop efficient, sustainable, and scalable kerosene–contaminated wastewater treatment technologies to assist with water resourcing and conservation.