Methacrylic acid (MAA) grafted rice husk was synthesized using graft copolymerization with Fenton's reagent as the redox initiator and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The highest grafting percentage of 44.3% was obtained using the traditional kinetic method. However, a maximum grafting percentage of 65.3% was calculated using the central composite design. Experimental results based on the recipes predicted from the statistical analysis are consistent with theoretical calculations. A representative polymethacrylic acid-g-rice husk (PMAA-g-rice husk) copolymer was hydrolyzed to a salt type and applied to the adsorption of paraquat. The adsorption equilibrium data correlate more closely with the Langmuir isotherm than with the Freundlich equation. The maximum adsorption capacity of modified rice husk is 292.5 mg/g-adsorbent. This value exceeds those for Fuller's earth and activated carbon, which are the most common binding agents used for paraquat. The samples at various stages were characterized by solid-state C-13 NMR spectroscopy. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.