The purpose of the present study is to develop a carbon-based sorbent for removing gaseous mercury. Existing commercial activated carbon for removing mercury is superior in efficiency but expensive. This study attempted to develop a cost-effective sorbent using petroleum coke, which is low-priced carbon source. It took note that the sulfur content of domestic petroleum coke is around 7%. Sulfur is a superior reaction material in removing mercury and it has been usually impregnated into activated carbon for use. Sulfur in petroleum coke is strongly stuck to carbon matrix, so it is not reactive as itself. This study applied high-temperature pyrolysis to petroleum coke to make its sulfur take out of the surface of the petroleum coke and used the sulfur in removing mercury. According to the result of the experiment, the specific surface area of petroleum coke increased around 10 times in the course of pyrolysis and the efficiency of mercury removal was significantly improved as part of sulfur taken out. Thus, pyrolyzed petroleum coke was considered to have high potential as a sorbent for removing mercury. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.