A study on the preparation of rice bran-based activated carbon was conducted, with and without an acid treatment step prior the activation process. The influence of the activation time on the structure of the activated carbons was evaluated. The acid treatment had a significant positive influence on sorption properties. The rice bran-activated carbon presented a BET surface area of 652 m(2) g(-1) and a pore volume of 0.137 cm(3) g(-1), with mesopores predominance (ca. 55%). These experimental results indicated the potential use of rice bran as a precursor in the activated carbon preparation process, thus representing an economically promising material. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.