ABSTRACT:

Industrial growth has intensified environmental pollution, particularly within the edible oil sector, where each stage from extraction to refining and end use is generating diverse streams of waste. A narrative literature review of edible oil processing waste was conducted, based on studies published between 1999 and 2026, to critically evaluate and highlight the types and challenges associated with this waste, as well as its environmental impacts. In parallel with production-related impacts, the review examines anthropogenic pollution from edible oil consumption, including household and food-business discharges. It also summarizes in-practice methods for extracting and refining vegetable oil, the types of industrial waste generated from these processes, detection techniques, and biological remediation strategies. Many physicochemical and biological methods, such as electrocoagulation, membrane filtration, anaerobic digestion, and microbial bioaugmentation, are gaining attraction and being applied to advance the edible oil milling process toward environmental sustainability and economic feasibility while meeting strict regulatory requirements. Several treatment technologies, such as enzymatic catalysis, algal sludge hybridization, microbial bio-granulation, and spectroscopic detection using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman Spectroscopy, remain under investigation, and their outcomes are anticipated. Collectively, waste accumulation accelerates ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and soil contamination. Assessing these practices is essential for improving future urban waste management and for establishing sustainable circular economy models that are viable for full-scale industrial implementation. Finally, the authors highlight that future research should integrate microbial ecology, enzyme engineering, reactor design, and circular-economy principles to develop robust, scalable, and sustainable bioremediation systems for edible-oil waste.

Keywords: Edible oil waste, Bioremediation, physicochemical and biological methods.

How to Cite this paper?

APA- Style
Faisal, U., Arshad, F.  (2026). Bioremediation of Edible Oil Waste: A Review on Sustainable Approach to Reducing Environmental Impact. Pakistan Journal of Chemistry, 16(3), 135-149. https://doi.org/10.15228/2026.v16.i4.p.135-149.

ACS Style
Faisal U., Arshad F., Bioremediation of Edible Oil Waste: A Review on Sustainable Approach to Reducing Environmental Impact.  Pak. J. Chem. 2026, 16 (3), 135–149.. https://doi.org/10.15228/2026.v16.i4.p.135-149.

AMA Style
Faisal U; Arshad F; Bioremediation of Edible Oil Waste: A Review on Sustainable Approach to Reducing Environmental Impact (2026) Pakistan Journal of Chemistry, 16(3), 135-149. https://doi.org/10.15228/2026.v16.i4.p.135-149.

Chicago/Turabian Style
Faisal U, Arshad F, Bioremediation of Edible Oil Waste: A Review on Sustainable Approach to Reducing Environmental Impact 2026 Pakistan Journal of Chemistry, 16(3), 135-149. https://doi.org/10.15228/2026.v16.i4.p.135-149.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.