Activated carbon was prepared from charcoal by chemical activation in this study. The preparation process consisted of zinc chloride impregnation followed by carbonization. The carbonization temperature ranges from 500 to 700degreesC for 1 h. Activated carbon produced from charcoal has been shown to be a good adsorbent for uranium from liquid aqueous radioactive wastes. The adsorption of uranium was studied as a function of pH, concentration of adsorbate, shaking time, particle size, amount of adsorbent and temperature. DeltaHdegrees and DeltaSdegrees were calculated from the slope and intercept of plots of In K-D versus 1/T. The uranium adsorption efficiency was found as 92 +/- 4%. The influence of different cations on uranium adsorption has been examined. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.