Phosphoric acid-activated carbon WP's and zinc chloride-activated carbons WZ's were developed from wild cherry stones. The textural properties of the activated carbons were determined from nitrogen adsorption data at 77 K and the chemistry of the carbon surface, i.e. the surface carbon-oxygen groups (type and amount) was determined from the base and acid neutralization capacities (Boehm method). The adsorption of phenol, p-nitrophenol, p-chlorophenol, dinitrophenol and dichlorophenol was followed at 298 K. The activated carbons obtained were characterized by high surface area and large pore volumes as well as by high surface concentration of C-O groups. The investigated carbons exhibited high adsorption capacities towards phenols with these capacities increased with the increase of molecular weight and the decrease of the solubility of phenol in water. However, no general relationship could be observed between the adsorption capacities of carbons and any of their textural parameters or their surface chemistry. This may be attributed to the many factors controlling phenol adsorption and the different types and mechanisms of adsorption involved.

Activated carbons were obtained by activating wild cherry stones with different concentrations of phosphoric acid or zinc chloride at different temperatures. The adsorption of N2 at 77 K and of CO2 at 273 K was followed and the data were analyzes by considering different adsorption models. The activated carbons obtained measured high surface area with the most of the surface in all samples located in micropores. Fair agreement was found between the nitrogen surface areas calculated from the BET-, t-, α- and DR- methods, although the first three are based on surface coverage whereas the latter is based on micropore filling. The carbon dioxide surface areas calculated by the DA equation were smaller than the comparable nitrogen areas. This was ascribed to domination of surface coverage mechanism, the absence of activated diffusion process. Based on this explanation the CO2-surface areas as calculated by DA equation should be taken with great reservation.