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In this study, the adsorption capacities of peanut shell activated carbon samples prepared using three types of peanut shell as raw material were compared. The effects of activation state, carbonization temperature, carbonization time, adsorption time during decolorization, and dosage on the performance of the peanut shell activated carbon samples were investigated. The performance of the modified peanut shell (activated carbon) on the decolorization of reactive brilliant blue X-BR and the adsorption kinetics were evaluated systematically. Among the three types of peanut shell activated carbon, the activated carbon that was first activated by phosphoric acid and then carbonized at 450°C for 3 h displayed the best performance, with an optimum dosage of 4 g l−1 and an optimum adsorption time of 2 h. The pseudo-second-order kinetics equation and the intraparticle diffusion equation could well describe the adsorption behavior of the activated carbon prepared by phosphoric acid activation. Intraparticle diffusion was not the only factor affecting the adsorption rate of the activated carbon on reactive brilliant blue X-BR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]