Dyes are colour organic compounds which can colorize the other substances. These substances usually presents in the effluent water of many industries, such as textiles, leather, paper, printing and cosmetics. To observe the potential feasibility of removing colour, peanut hull as an agricultural by-product was dehydrated with sulphuric acid (DPH) and used for adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. The effects of various parameters such as initial methylene blue concentrations, temperatures and particle sizes were examined and optimal experimental conditions were determined. Adsorption data were well described by the Langmuir model, although they could be modelled by the Freundlich model as well. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The mass transfer model as intraparticle diffusion was applied to the experimental data to examine the mechanisms of rate controlling step. It was found that at the higher initial MB concentration, intraparticle diffusion is becoming significant controlling step. The thermodynamic constants of the adsorption process were also evaluated by using the Langmuir constants related to the equilibrium of adsorption at different temperatures. The results in this study indicated that dehydrated peanut hull was a good adsorbent for removing methylene blue. (c) 2006 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.