The activated carbons (ACs) produced from solid residue of cellulose and synthetic polymer co-pyrolysis (CACs) and commercial activated carbon from coconut shell (GC) were used for phenol removal. The adsorption kinetics and mechanism were investigated. All studied activated carbons are predominantly microporous and are characterized by basic surface characteristics. Surface area S-BET varies between 1235 and 1499 m(2)/g, whereas the pH(PZC) changes from 7.70 to 10.63. The bath adsorption of phenol (P) was carried out at ambient temperature. The equilibrium time and equilibrium sorption capacity were determined. It was found that the boundary layer effect is bigger in AC with high basic characteristics of the surface. The rate controlling step is the intraparticle diffusion in CACs only, whereas in ACs with higher amount of acidic functionalities the adsorbate-surface interaction influences the rate of kinetic as well. The equilibrium isotherms are L2 type for commercial AC and L4 for CACs. The CACs are characterized by very high adsorption capacity that vary between 312 and 417 mg/g. The main mechanism of phenol adsorption is micropore filling within pores smaller than 1.4 nm. In the absence of solvent effect further adsorption of phenol on CACs takes place. The enhanced adsorption is due to dispersive/repulsive interaction induced by oxygen functionalities. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.