Oil spill cleanup of water surface by plant-based sorbents: Russian practices

•Russian market of industrial sorbents is advancing rapidly.•Chemically and physic chemically modification can provide desired properties (high buoyancy, sorption capacity, hydrophoby, etc.).•Number of works focused on the modification of plant materials by plasma processing. The paper analyses the best practices of Russian researchers, including the authors of the article, in the field of crude oil and refined products cleanup of water surfaces by alternative sorbents. Sorption methods and using low-cost plant based sorbents are emphasized. Various modification methods (heat treatment, chemical modification, etc.) of the above mentioned sorbents are discussed, which are aimed at increasing oil sorption capacity and developing hydrophobic properties. It is evident from the review that these sorbents have considerable potential for the oil spill cleanup.