Bagasse fly ash, a waste generated in local sugar industries, has been converted into a low cost adsorbent. The product so obtained has been characterized and used for the removal of phenol and p-nitrophenol. Investigations include the effect of pH, sorbent dosage, phenol concentration and the effect of surfactants on the uptake of phenol and p-nitrophenol. The adsorption data follow both Langmuir and Freundlich models. Isotherms have also been used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters of the process. Some experiments have also been performed with a view to recover phenols and have in-situ chemical regeneration of the spent carbon column.