Green dispersants for oil spill response: A comprehensive review of recent advances

Green dispersants are so-called “green” because they are renewable (from bio-based sources), non-volatile (from ionic liquids), or are from naturally available solvents (vegetable oils). In this review, the effectiveness of different types of green dispersants, namely, protein isolates and hydrolysates from fish and marine wastes, biosurfactants from bacterial and fungal strains, vegetable-based oils such as soybean lecithin and castor oils, as well as green solvents like ionic liquids are reviewed. The challenges and opportunities offered by these green dispersants are also elucidated. The effectiveness of these dispersants varies widely and depends on oil type, dispersant hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, and seawater conditions. However, their advantages lie in their relatively low toxicity and desirable physico-chemical properties, which make them potentially ecofriendly and effective dispersants for future oil spill response.