Recently a new form of activated carbon has appeared: carbon aerogel (CA). Its use for the removal of inorganic (and especially metal ions) has not been studied. In the present study, the adsorption of three metal ions, Hg(II), Ph(II) and Ni(II), onto carbon aerogel has been investigated. Batch experiments were carried out to assess adsorption equilibria and kinetic behaviour of heavy metal ions by varying parameters such as agitation time, metal ions' concentration, adsorbent dose and pH. They facilitated the computation of kinetic parameters and maximum metal ion adsorption capacities. Increasing the initial solution pH (2-10) and carbon concentration (50-500mg per So cm(3)) increases the removal of all three metal ions. A decrease of equilibrium pH with an increase of metal ion concentration led us to propose an adsorption mechanism by ion exchange between metal cations and H+ at the carbon aerogel surface. Carboxylic groups are especially involved in this adsorption mechanism. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to analyse the experimental data of carbon aerogel. The thermodynamics of the metal adsorption was also investigated for the practical implementation of the adsorbent. The sorption showed significant increase with increase of temperature. Kinetics models describing the adsorption of Hg(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II) ions onto carbon aerogel have been compared. Kinetics models evaluated include the pseudo-first order and second order model. The parameters of the adsorption rate constants have been determined and the effectiveness of each model assessed. The result obtained showed that the pseudo-second order kinetic model correlated well with the experimental data and better than the pseudo-first order model examined in the study. Mass transfer coefficients obtained can be useful in designing wastewater treatment systems or in the development of environmental technologies. (c) 2005 Society of Chemical Industry.