Activated (AC-PW) and non-activated (C-PW) carbonaceous materials were prepared from the Brazilian pine-fruit-shell (Araucaria angustifolia) and tested as adsorbents for the removal of Procion Red MX 3B dye (PR-3B) from aqueous effluents. The activation process lead to increase in the specific surface area, average porous volume, and average porous diameter of the adsorbent AC-PW when compared to C-PW. The effects of shaking time, adsorbent dosage and pH on adsorption capacity were studied. PR-3B uptake was favorable at pHs ranging from 2.0 to 3.0 for C-PW and 2.0 to 7.0 for AC-PW. The contact time required to obtain the equilibrium using C-PW and AC-PW as adsorbents was 6 and 4 h at 298 K, respectively. The values of the function error (F-error) of fractionary-order kinetic model was at least 15 times lower than the values obtained with pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second order and Elovich kinetic models, indicating that this kinetic model was better fitted to the experimental results. For equilibrium data the F-error values of the Sips isotherm model were at least 4.0 lower than the values of Langmuir, Freundlich, and Redlich-Peterson isotherm models using C-PW and AC-PW as adsorbents. The enthalpy and entropy of adsorption of PR-3B were obtained from adsorption experiments ranging from 298 to 323 K. Simulated dyehouse effluents were used to check the applicability of the proposed carbons for effluent treatment. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.