The statistical rate theory combined with a two-component competitive adsorption model is applied to describe the effect of pH on the kinetics of metal ions adsorption at energetically heterogeneous solid/solution interfaces. The surface heterogeneity has been represented by both Gaussian-like and rectangular functions of the adsorption energy distribution. A concept of effective heterogeneity parameters is found to represent very well the combined effects of surface energetic heterogeneity and of the electrostatic lateral interactions in the adsorbed phase, described by using the mean field approximation. The applicability of our approach is dernonstrated by a quantitative analysis of two sets of experimental data reported in literature. Our theoretical expressions have been able to successfully correlate kinetic and equilibrium data in both these cases. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.