Porous carbons were prepared by carbonization of phenol resins of different novolac/resol ratio. By mixing 20wt % of resol with novolac (Carbon samples Ph-C2 and Ph-C3), BET and mesopore surface areas remarkably increased. The addition of more than 50wt% of resol (Carbon samples Ph-C4 and Ph C-5) deceased BET specific surface area and scarcely accelerated the formation of mesopore. The adsorption of acid dye (Acid Blue 9), basic dye (Basic Brown 1), direct dye (Direct Yellow 11) and metal ions, Cr (VI), Pb (II), and Zn (II) were investigated. The adsorbed amounts of Basic Brown 1 and Cr (VI) on Ph-C2 are higher than those on Ph-C4 and Ph-C5. Direct Yellow 11 of large molecule in size highly adsorbed on Ph-C2 and Ph-C3 of high mesopore content.
