AbstractThe adsorption of Chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions was studied on different commercial grades of granular activated carbon namely Filtrasorb F‐400, F‐300, F‐200 and F‐100. The adsorption of Chromium (VI) on F‐400 carbon was found to be maximum in comparison to the other grades of carbon. The Chromium (VI) adsorption process in dilute aqueous solutions agreed with the Langmuir and Freundlich models and also obeyed first order kinetics. Metal sorption characteristics of as received activated carbons were measured in batch experiments. The maximum removal (60–65%) for different grades of raw carbon was observed at 25 °C with an initial concentration of 15.16 mg dm−3. It is evident from the study that granular activated carbon holds a particular promise in the removal of metal ions from aqu