Batch experiments have been carried out to study phenol removal from a synthetic phenol solution by adsorption onto blast furnace flue dust from a steel plant and slag generated in chrome alloy plants. Removal efficiencies attained after 8h were observed to be more than 90 and 75% for the blast furnace flue dust and slag, respectively. The adsorption processes for both adsorbents follow first-order kinetics, Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms, decreasing with increasing temperature and decreasing particle size. Intraparticle diffusion studies indicate that adsorption of the substrate takes place rapidly by external mass transfer, followed by intraparticle diffusion. Column experiments indicate that the amount of phenol adsorbed decreases with increasing flow rate and decreasing bed height. The break-through time and bed-depth data show applicability of the bed-depth service time (BDST) model.