In recent years, the rapid development of the world economy has resulted in massive consumption of oil, which is considered as a non⁃ renewable resource and has been supplied as an important energy and raw materials for human survival and social evolution. However, the up rush of oil consumption has produced a large amount of oil⁃containing waste water, which poses great harm to the environment. To date, the main oil⁃water separation technologies for oil pollution remediation include physical, chemical, and biological methods. Among the various technologies, sorption with oil⁃absorbing material is regarded as a cost⁃effective and efficient method, which is capable of effectively separating and recovering oil as a resource from oily water. Therefore, the development of low⁃cost, recyclable and environmentally friendly adsorbents as oil⁃water separation materials are gaining more attention. In terms of the material forms, the oil⁃waterseparation materials can be classified into three categories, namely, powder / granular one⁃ dimensional materials, membrane two⁃dimensional materials, and three⁃dimensional aerogels. Due to the advantages of high porosity, large specific surface area, good elasticity, and convenient operation, aerogels have gradually been applied in the field of oil / water separation. Oil can be recovered easily through simple physical squeezing, while the production of oil adsorbents from fibrous waste can provide additional economic and environmental benefits. Compared with the silica⁃, and graphene⁃based aerogels, cellulose⁃based ones have emerged as one of the hottest research topics, owing to their advantages of ubiquity, renewability, cost⁃effectiveness, low density, and biodegradability. In addition, the hybrid aerogels prepared from plant cellulose, graphene oxides, sodium alginate, chitosan and other materials can be used in a variety of harsh environments due to their high⁃strength, flame retardant, compressive properties. In this review, the state⁃of⁃the⁃art research progress in developing cellulose⁃based aerogels for highly efficient oil / water separationis summarized. The drying methods (supercritical drying, atmospheric drying and freeze drying), freezing methods (conventional freezing, unidirectional freezing and bidirectional freezing), hydrophobic modification and oil absorption properties of the materials are summarized emphatically. Finally, the existing problems of plant cellulose⁃based aerogels for oil sorption are discussed, and the future developments are prospected. © 2023 Cailiao Daobaoshe/ Materials Review. All rights reserved.
