Both inorganic and organic pillared montmorillonites were used to adsorb phenol. Batch kinetics and isotherm studies were carried out to evaluate the effect of equilibrium time and pH on adsorption of phe- nol by montmorillonites and re-adsorbing characteristics of pillared montmorillonites. The adsorption of phenol increased with increasing solution pH values. The elimination ratio of phenol from the solution by the absorption of organic modified pillared montmorillonite (OrPMt) reached equilibrium quickly after vibrating for 5 minutes. Meanwhile for organic montmorillonite (OrMt), pillared montmorillonite (PMt) and montmorillonite (Mt), the time to reach phenol-absorption equilibrium were 20, 30 and 90 minutes, respectively. The adsorbing capacity of the pillared montmorillonite modified with surfactant improved greatly. The phenol-adsorbing capacity of pillared molltmorillonites mainly depended on microporous structure and surface component of the modified clays. After calcination at 500 ℃, the pillar structure and the basal spacing (1.83 um) were still stable. So the pillared montmorillonite could be recycled, and it was a potential material for adsorbing environmental pollutants.
