INFORM November/December 2025

inform November/December 2025, Vol. 36 (10) • 35

Minimizing oil pollution: a review of current status and its treatment options Muvel, H., et al. , RSC Sustainability , 3, 3681, 2025. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/su/d5su00403a Oil contamination is a critical issue affecting global water resources, which originates from a variety of sources, including domestic and industrial activities. The situation has been exacer bated by recent incidents, particularly in marine environments. Effective control measures and technologies are essential for mini mizing oil pollution. Several factors influence the efficiency of oil– water separation, such as operating conditions, chemical additives, equipment design, and environmental factors. However, current separation methods often face limitations in terms of time con sumption, high operational costs, and large system footprints, which constrain their widespread industrial application. This review explores the status of oil pollution and novel ways of inter acting with other water contaminants, along with available meth ods for reducing oil contamination, with a focus on increasing global crude oil production and its environmental impact. Despite existing discharge regulations, accidental spills and other human activities continue to pose significant risks to water resources. This study discusses a range of methods, from traditional screening techniques to cutting-edge processes, such as adsorption, flota tion, filtration, chlorination, and activated/triggered infiltration. In addition, this study highlights the current trends and future directions in the treatment of oily wastewater, emphasizing the need for sustainable and effective solutions for the oil industry. Industrial oily wastewater presents significant environmental and health risks, with varying challenges across developed, emerging, and less-income nations. While developed countries have access to advanced technologies, emerging contaminants pose new chal lenges. Emerging and less income nations struggle with outdated infrastructure and lack regulatory frameworks. Addressing these issues requires an integrated approach to wastewater treatment that combines biological, chemical, and physical methods to enhance both efficiency and sustainability. This study provides detailed informational material to support policymakers in determining future research directions, encourages the scientific community to undertake innovation in new directions, fosters collaborative efforts, and establishes regulations that promote the adoption of sustainable practices. Exploring the applicability of industry 4.0 technologies in oil and gas pipeline leakage monitoring: Results from an empirical study Taifa, I.W.R., et al. , Journal of Industrial Information Integration , 46, 100857, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jii.2025.100857 This study explored the applicability of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in oil and gas (O&G) pipeline leakage monitoring (PLM) in Tanzania. Specific objectives identified factors affecting the adoption of I4.0 technologies in the O&G PLM, evaluated the maturity of I4.0 within the industry, and proposed strategies to enhance the adoption of I4.0 technologies for PLM. A mixed

extraction and upgrading methodologies aims to facilitate the devel opment and industrial adoption of sustainable biolubricants.

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Thais Lomonaco Teodoro da Silva teaches and conducts food sci ence research at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Brazil. Her research is focused on oleogels, lipid crystallization, and sonocrystallization.

The oil industry, historically known for its traditional, large-scale operations, is undergoing a significant transformation. This shift is driven by two powerful forces: the push toward Industry 4.0 and the growing demand for sustainability. The adoption of Industry 4.0 tech nologies is fundamentally changing how companies operate. This digital integration creates a more agile, efficient, and safer industry, while also helping companies to meet environmental goals by better managing resources and reducing waste. Traditional and unconven tional crops are or will benefit from this new industry. Trends and advances in pre- and post harvest processing of linseed oil for quality food and health products Langyan, S., et al. , Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition , 65, 4, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2023.2280768 Linseed is an ancient crop used for diverse purposes since the beginning of civilization. In recent times, linseed has emerged as a superfood due to its high content of health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids and other bioactive compounds. Among primary health effects, it has potential to manage hypertension, diabetes, osteopo rosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, arthritis, neurological, cardiovascular diseases including blood cholesterol levels, constipation, diarrhea, and autoimmune disorders etc. due to the presence of omega-3 fatty acid, lignans, high dietary fibers, and proteins, whereas, second ary health effects comprise of relieving from various skin disor ders. Due to these health-beneficial properties, interest in linseed oil necessitates the intensification of research efforts on various aspects. These include cultivation technology, varietal and genetic improvement, post-harvest processing, profiling of nutrients and bioactive compounds, pre-clinical and clinical studies, etc. The present review discussed the advances in linseed research includ ing pre- and post-harvest processing. However, focus on the bioac tive compounds present in linseed oil and their health effects are also presented. Linseed cultivation, pre- and post-harvest process ing aspects are covered including climatic, edaphic, agronomic fac tors, type of cultivar and storage conditions etc, which impact the overall oil yield and its nutritional quality. Various emerging appli cations of linseed oil in functional food, nutraceutical, pharmaceu tical, and cosmeceutical preparations were also presented in detail. Further, recommendations were made on linseed oil research in the field of genetics, breeding germplasm resources and genome editing for exploring its full applications as a nutrition and health product.