A series of microporous carbons was obtained through carbonization of Saran polymer (poly(vinylidene chloride-co-vinyl chloride)) at various temperatures. The resulting carbons were also activated with KOH to obtain highly microporous carbons. The activated carbons possessed well-developed porous structures: specific surface area in the range 14602200 m(2)/g, micropore volume in the range of 0.650.96 cm(3)/g, and ultramicropore volume in the range of 0.180.25 cm(3)/g. The well-developed porous structure of these carbons resulted in high CO2 and benzene uptakes: CO2 uptake of 6.7 mmol/g at 0 degrees C and 3.9 mmol/g at 25 degrees C (both at ca. 800 mmHg) and benzene uptake of 11.6 mmol/g at 20 degrees C (at a pressure close to the saturation vapor pressure). This study shows that simple but controlled carbonization and activation of commercially available polymers such as Saran can afford high surface area carbon sorbents for CO2 and benzene adsorption and for related environment remediation applications.