BACKGROUND: There are a number of articles related to removal of boron by electrocoagulation using aluminium electrodes, but there are fewer articles describing the use of magnesium as the anode material. The main disadvantage of aluminium electrodes is the residual aluminium present in the treated water due to cathodic dissolution, which can create health problems. In the case of magnesium electrodes, there is no such disadvantage. This paper presents the results of studies on the removal of boron using magnesium and stainless steel as anode and cathode, respectively. RESULTS: Results show that a maximum removal efficiency of 86.32% was achieved at a current density of 0.2 A dm(-2) and pH of 7 using magnesium as the anode and stainless steel as the cathode. The adsorption of boron fitted the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, suggesting monolayer coverage of adsorbed molecules. The adsorption process follows second-order kinetics. Temperature studies showed that adsorption was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. CONCLUSIONS: The magnesium hydroxide generated in the cell remove the boron present in the water and reduced to a permissible level and making it drinkable. The process scale up results was consistent with the results obtained from the laboratory scale, showing the robustness of the process. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry