The aim of this work was to study a new procedure for the regeneration of activated carbon saturated with phenol. The study was accomplished in two steps: extraction of the pollutant with supercritical water at 410 degrees C and 275 bar, and gasification of phenol with supercritical water at temperatures ranging between 600-650 degrees C. It was observed that the regeneration process was very rapid and effective. The regenerated activated carbon always recovered its original adsorption capacity, even after several regeneration cycles. The gasification of phenol afforded CO2 and H2O, with a very fast first-order kinetic process. The activation energy was very low (0.192 kJ mol(-1)).