BACKGROUND: Water pollution by toxic organic compounds is of great concern and increasingly there are demands for effective sorbents to remove them. Bagasse fly ash, a sugar industry solid waste with disposal problems, was utilized as a source for the synthesis of zeolitic material. The efficiency of virgin and synthesized material was examined for the sorption of 2-chlorophenol. RESULTS: Zeolitic materials have been synthesized by alkaline hydrothermal and fusion methods. Zeolite P and Analcime were the major components of the zeolitic material. These materials were characterized by XRF, PXRD, FTIR and SEM and were found to have improved morphology with new crystalline phases. Batch sorption experiments for the removal of 2-chlorophenol by virgin and zeolitic materials were carried out to evaluate isotherm capacities and kinetics of sorption processes. The Langmuir isotherm better fits the equilibrium data which concur with physical sorption. Kinetic studies showed better correlation coefficients for pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion model, confirming that the sorption rate was controlled by film diffusion followed by pore diffusion. Desorption studies were performed to regenerate the activity of the spent sorbents. The practical utility of sorbents was tested by column study. CONCLUSION: Bagasse fly ash, readily available at very low cost was successfully converted into zeolitic material. The synthesized zeolitic material showed enhanced capacities for the sorption of 2-chlorophenol and can be utilized as a low cost sorbent for treatment of phenolic waste-water. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industry