This work is focused on the analysis and modelling of styrene drying, raw material in the manufacture of synthetic rubber, by means of adsorption onto activated alumina. Equilibrium experiments, carried out tinder isothermal conditions at 10degreesC, cot-related to the equation q (kg/kg) =2.659 x 10(-4) C (mg/kg). Fixed bed column experiments were performed working with different flow rates and using different bed lengths in order to obtain experimental breakthrough curves. A mathematical model that considers the influence of both film and pore mass transfer resistances described satisfactorily well the experimental results. Finally a value of D-p = 6.101 x 10(-9) m(2)/s was obtained from correlation of experimental data to simulated curves and using the minimum weighted standard deviation as optimisation criterion.