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The petrochemical industry is one of the main sources of aquatic pollution, because when its waste is discarded in water resources, the generation of oily wastewater is dangerous to the ecosystem and to human health. Due to the diversified origin of these waters they present an extremely varied composition and they are difficult to treat. Thus, this dissertation aims to evaluate the removal of quinoline, a compound derived from the petrochemical industry, through an adsorption process. A solution of quinoline solubilized in 2,2,4-trimethylpentane was used as pollutant solution. Three different types of activated carbons prepared from precursor mixtures of compost originated from urban solid waste and glycerol were used as adsorbents and their adsorption capacity was tested. The adsorption kinetics of quinoline reveal that the adsorption is very fast in the first 30 minutes and that this process is more efficient at low concentrations. The kinetic data for the three activated carbons were successfully fitted to the pseudo-second order model. The equilibrium data were better adjusted to the Freundlich model, revealing the adsorption process physisorption character. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained by the Langmuir model was 3.376 mg.g-1. The results show that activated carbons with ratios of compost:glycerol of 1:3 (C1G3) and 2:2 (C2G2) were the best adsorbents.