The aim of this paper is to study the abatement of three-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from hot gas emissions during energy generation in coal combustion. The three-ring PAHs are one of the most abundant PAH groups emitted during coal combustion. Four of them-Acenaphthene (Ac), Phenanthrene (Phe), Fluorene (Fu) and Anthracene (An)-have been listed by US EPA as priority pollutants, The three-ring PAH adsorption capacities are related to the textural properties of the 16 sorbents used in this work. Single and multiple linear regressions-principal component regression (PCR)-were applied in this study. The main conclusions reached are two: (1) the micropore volume is the most determinant parameter for these PAH removal; (2) the adsorption of three-ring PAH by sot-bents from waste hot gas emissions is inversely proportional to their volatility: the lower the PAH volatility. the higher the adsorbent adsorption capacity. The adsorption isotherms show that Phe and An, both examples of PAHs with three aromatic rings, behave similarly. However, their behaviour differs from that of Ac and Fu, compounds where only two of their three rings exhibit an aromatic nature. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.