Abstract: By adsorbing phenolic compounds, Cr(Ⅵ) and I₂, the effect of the physicochemical characteristic of the porous carbon on its adsorption performance for different species was studied. It is shown that the adsorption of the porous carbon towards I₂ depends on the pore volume of the porous carbon; the adsorption of the porous carbon towards phenolic compounds depends on the density of carboxylic and lactonic groups on the surface of the porous carbon; the adsorption of the porous carbon towards Cr(Ⅵ) depends on the total content of basic, carboxylic and lactonic groups on the surface of the porous carbon.

Key words: porous carbon, adsorption, iodine, chromium(Ⅵ), phenolic compound