In this study, activated carbons were prepared from sugar beet bagasse by chemical activation and the prepared activated carbons were used to remove nitrate from aqueous solutions. In chemical activation, ZnCl(2) was used as chemical agent. The effects of impregnation ratio and activation temperature were investigated. The produced activated carbons were characterized by measuring their porosities and pore size distributions. The microstructure of the activated carbons was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The maximum specific surface area of the activated carbon was about 1826 m(2)/g at 700 degrees C and at an impregnation ratio of 3:1. The resulting activated carbon was used for removal of nitrate from aqueous solution. The effects of pH, temperature and contact time were investigated. Isotherm studies were carried out and the data were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin equations. Three simplified kinetic models were tested to investigate the adsorption mechanism. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.