Phenol is a target pollutant to be removed from wastewaters from different industries. Adsorption of phenol from aqueous solutions onto two polymeric resins (Sephabeads SP206 and SP207) and onto activated carbon (Filtrasorb F400) was studied. Batch equilibrium experiments were carried out at three different temperatures (293, 3 10 and 333 K) for each of the adsorbents. In order to ascertain the fixed bed performance of the adsorbents considered, adsorption runs were carried out at laboratory scale at 293, 3 10 and 333 K. Equilibrium and fixed bed experimental results were compared to the simulated ones. Equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir isotherm and the breakthrough curves simulation was based on this equilibrium isotherm together with a mass transfer description based on the Linear Driving Force (LDF) model. After the adsorbents screening and mass transfer parameters determination, Sephabeads SP206 was used to purify a phenolic solution by parametric pumping at pilot scale using hot and cold temperatures of 293 and 333 K, respectively. A package for the simulation of this cyclic operation was used to predict model results, which were satisfactorily compared to those experimentally obtained. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.