In this work, a new biotechnological procedure was developed using cellulase as a modifier to produce oil sorbent from corn stalk (CMCS). Cellulase treatment of raw corn stalk (RCS) with enzyme loading of 100 U/g at 45 degrees C for 6 h resulted in high oil sorption capacity. The sorption capacities of vegetable oil, diesel and crude oil by CMCS were 18.47, 16.15 and 27.23 g/g, respectively, which were found to be much higher than RCS. XRD, BET and SEM were applied to characterize RCS and CMCS. The effects of sorbent dose (0.1-0.5 g), initial oil amount (5-30 g), and the sorption kinetics were also studied. This work demonstrated that corn stalk modified by cellulase is an efficient and environment-friendly biosorbent for the removal of spilled oil. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.