A new process combining the two conventional control techniques absorption and adsorption, which consists in scrubbing the gases with an aqueous slurry of fine-powdered activated carbon, was studied to reduce the emission of some hydrophilic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The collection of airborne isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and acetone vapors, the concentrations of which being in the range 1-5 g/m(3), was carried out with aqueous suspensions containing up to 8 % (w/w) activated carbon, in a cables contactor operating at ambient temperature in a semi-continuous way with recycle of the slurry. To interpret the experiments, a model was developed on the basis of the two-film theory of absorption, a Henry's law for the solubility of organic compounds in water, and the assumption of a linear relationship between the instantaneous VOC contents of the solid and liquid phases. This model allows determining the overall gas-liquid height of transfer unit of the absorption column. Experimental results clearly reveal the increase of the global uptake capacity of VOC due to the presence of carbon particles in the absorbent. Nevertheless, it appears that the gas-liquid mass transfer rate is reduced, contrary to the expected enhancement due to the so-called grazing effect or shuttle movement of carbon particles reported in the literature. Same kinds of runs performed with slurries of non-adsorbing fine particles of silica resulted in a net increase of the overall gas-liquid and particularly of the liquid film mass transfer resistance. These runs show that, in the kind of absorber used, a substantial hindering influence of the solid particles accumulation in the liquid film also occurs when adsorbing particles are added to the liquid. The lack of enhancement in presence of activated carbon was attributed moreover to an inefficient shuttle effect caused by a too small adsorption capacity of the soluble VOCs on the activated carbon. This was confirmed by some tests carried out with an hydrophobic compound which being strongly adsorbed led to an appreciable enhancement. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.