Adsorption of ethyl acetate, a toxic volatile organic compound, on activated carbon is studied. Adsorption isotherms at temperatures of 30, 45, and 55 degrees C are obtained. Langmuir isotherm parameters, saturation capacity, and heat of adsorption are found from the experimental data. The overall mass-transfer coefficient of ethyl acetate is evaluated using the uptake curve method. A mathematical model, with consideration of nonisothermal and nonadiabatic processes without axial dispersion of mass and energy and on the basis of the linear driving force approximation, well-predicted the experimental breakthrough data. Results show that the isotherms are of Brunauer type I and well-fitted with the Langmuir isotherm model. The saturation capacity of ethyl acetate on activated carbon is 0.73-0.487 kg/kg in the temperature range of 303-328 K. The heat of adsorption both by van't Hoff and by Clausius-Clapeyron equations are on the order of 10(5) J/kg. The overall mass-transfer coefficient is on the order of 10(-4) s(-1).