The flow-field and solute transport through and around a porous cylinder is investigated numerically. The range of Reynolds number (based on the cylinder diameter and the uniform sinking rate of the cylinder) considered here is between 1 and 40 with Darcy number (Da) in the range 10(-6) <= Da <= 1.5 and porosity in the range 0.629 <= epsilon <= 0.999. The motivation of the present study is the application of flow through porous cylinder extensively applied in nuclear biological chemical filters as well as reduction of carbon fines in filtered water. The influence of Da on the drag coefficient, separation angle, recirculation length, streamline and vorticity pattern are investigated. The drag ratio, defined as the ratio of drag coefficient of porous cylinder to that of solid cylinder, is found to approach zero from unity as Da is increased from 10(-6) to 1.5. The separation point shifts towards the rear stagnation point as Da is increased. The time evolution of the solutal field at different Reynolds number and Darcy number is presented. A long slender concentration plume is found to evolve from the cylinder with decreasing concentration at the outer edge. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.