Butanol can be produced from biomass via fermentation and used in vehicles. Unfortunately, butanol is toxic to the microbes, and this can slow fermentation rates and reduce butanol yields. Butanol can be efficiently removed from fermentation broth by gas stripping, thereby preventing its inhibitory effects. Original active carbon (AC) and AC samples modified by nitric acid hydrothermal modification were assessed for their ability to adsorb butanol vapor. The specific surface area and oxygen-containing functional groups of AC were tested before and after modification. The adsorption capacity of unmodified AC samples was the highest. Hydrothermal oxidation of AC with HNO3 increased the surface oxygen content, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, micropore, mesopore and total pore volume of AC. Although the pore structure and specific surface area were greatly improved after hydrothermal oxidization with 4 M HNO3, the increased oxygen on the surface of AC decreased the dynamic adsorption capacity. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.