Defatted rice bran, soybean and cottonseed hulls were evaluated for their sorption properties and resistance to mechanical abrasion in consideration of their potential use as commercial metal adsorbents. These by-products were evaluated using both laboratory prepared solutions and metal plating wastewater for their ability to adsorb Zn(II) and/or Cu(II) and NI(II). Extrusion stabilized, pilot plant-prepared brans had greater adsorption capacities and adsorption efficiencies than expander stabilized, commercially available bran. All rice brans possessed low mechanical abrasion resistance in batch applications. NaOH- and HCl-washed soybean and cottonseed hulls had generally higher adsorption efficiencies than water-washed (control) hulls, but had higher or lower adsorption capacities, respectively, than water-washed hulls. Heat-treated cottonseed and soybean hulls had lower adsorption properties than water-washed hulls. Unlike rice bran, both soybean and cottonseed hulls were found to have high mechanical abrasion resistance in batch applications. Reuse of hulls after one adsorption/desorption (sorption) cycle resulted in a large decrease in adsorption capacity which classified hulls as single-use adsorbents when desorbed with HCl.