Activated carbons were produced from waste tires and their characteristics were investigated. Rubber separated from waste tires was first carbonized at 500 degreesC in N-2 atmosphere. Next, the obtained chars were activated with steam at 850 T. As a result, fairly mesoporous activated carbons with mesopore volumes and BET surface areas up to 1.09 cm(3)/g and 737 m(2)/g, respectively, were obtained. To further improve the porous properties of the activated carbons, the char was treated with 1 M HCl at room temperature for I day prior to steam activation. This treatment increased mesopore volumes and BET surface areas of the activated carbons up to 1.62 cm(3)/g and 1119 m(2)/g, respectively. Furthermore, adsorption characteristics of phenol and a dye, Black 5, on the activated carbon prepared via acid treatment were compared with those of a commercial activated carbon in the liquid phase. Although the prepared carbon had a larger micropore volume than the commercial carbon, it showed a slightly lower phenol adsorption capacity. On the other hand, the prepared carbon showed an obviously larger dye adsorption capacity than the commercial carbon, because of its larger mesopore volume. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.