In this paper, the adsorption of methyl mercaptan and carbonyl sulfide by metal exchanged zeolites and layered double hydroxides (LDH) is studied. The affinity of CH3SH for metal-exchanged zeolites was found to increase with the basicity and the valence of the cation. Yoon-Nelson modelling gave good predictions of half time of breakthrough for each zeolite tested. Thermogravimetry was used in the case of the system CH3SH/NaX for elucidating the desorption process of CH3SH from NaX. In contrast, the affinity of COS was found clearly lower for Me-zeolite in comparison with CH3SH. Catalytic hydrolysis of COS was tested with the same metal exchanged zeolites and LDH materials and the basicity of the catalysts was found to strongly influence the hydrolysis. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.