Continuous adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from the aqueous solution onto raw rice husk was studied in rotating packed bed (RPB). A mathematical model developed for analyzing the data gave fairly good representation of the experimental breakthrough curves. Comparison with experimental data available in the literature for continuous operation in fixed bed showed that the uptake rate was an order higher in RPB. The simulation study indicated among others, that the global mass transfer coefficient decreases with increase of the radial distance from the inner packing radius, and the performance of a series of interconnected smaller rotating packed beds is superior in comparison to that of a single large bed having the same total volume and amount of adsorbent as the smaller ones. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.