Adsorption kinetic and equilibrium of a basic dye (Astrazon Yellow 7GL) from aqueous solutions at various initial dye concentration (50-300 mg/l), pH (4-10), adsorbent dosage (2-8 g/l), particle size (354-846 mu m) and temperature (30-50 C) on wheat bran were studied in a batch mode operation. The result showed that the amount adsorbed of the dye increased with increasing initial dye concentration and contact time, whereas particle size and pH had no significant affect on the amount of dye adsorbed by the adsorbent. A comparison of kinetic models on the overall adsorption rate showed that dye/adsorbent system was best described by the pseudo second-order rate model. The removal rate was also dependent on both external mass transfer and intra-particle diffusion. The low value of the intraparticle diffusivity, 10(-11) cm(2)/S, indicated the significant influence of intraparticle diffusion on the kinetic control. The adsorption capacity (Q(0)) calculated from the Langmuir isotherm was 69.06 mg/g for at pH 5.6, 303 K for the particle size of 354 mu m. The experimental data yielded excellent fits with Langmuir and Tempkin isotherm equations. Different thermodynamic parameters showed that the reaction was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.