The use of mineral waste from coal mining (MWCM) as an adsorbent for the removal of astrazon red dye (AR) from aqueous solution was studied in detail Batch adsorption experiments were carried out under varied conditions such as different initial concentrations of AR contact time pH temperature and calcination of the adsorbent Investigations revealed that the maximum colour removal was observed for unbuffered solutions MWCM calculated at 400 C (MWCM400) was more efficient for dye removal than samples calculated at other temperatures The adsorption isotherm of AR on MWCM400 was determined and correlated with the Langmuir and Freundlich models the results indicated a better fit for the Langmuir model at all the temperatures studied Kinetic data were fitted with both pseudo first order and pseudo second-order kinetic models and the data were found to follow the latter model more adequately Calculated thermodynamic and kinetic parameters indicate a predominantly physisorption mechanism for the adsorption of AR onto MWCM400 The amount of AR adsorbed by MWCM400 per unit area was found to be two or three times greater than that by several comparable adsorbents (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved