In order to reduce the negative impact of coal utilization for energy generation, the pollutants present in the flue gas of coal combustion such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NO) must be effectively removed before releasing to the atmosphere. Thus in this study, sorbent prepared from rice husk ash that is impregnated with copper is tested for simultaneous removal of SO2 and NO from simulated flue gas. The effect of various sorbent preparation parameters; copper loading, RNA/CaO ratio, hydration period and NaOH concentration on the sorbent desulfurization/denitrification capacity was studied using Design-Expert Version 6.0.6 software. Specifically, Central Composite Design (CCD) coupled with Response Surface Method (RSM) was used. Significant individual parameters that affect the sorbent capacity are copper loading and NaOH concentration. Apart from that, interaction between the following parameters was also found to have significant effect: copper loading, RHA/CaO ratio and NaOH concentration. The optimum sorbent preparation condition for this study was found to be 3.06% CuO loading, RNA/CaO ratio of 1.41, 8.05 h of hydration period and NaOH concentration 01 0.80 M. Sorbent characterization using SEM, XRD and surface area analysis were used to describe the effect of sorbent preparation parameters on the desulfurization/denitrification activity. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.