The performance of a synthetic adsorbent in removing trichloroethene (TCE) from a groundwater containing natural organic matter (NOM) was compared with that of granular activated carbon (GAC). Adsorption equilibrium, kinetic, and pilot-plant experiments were used to compare the adsorbents. Adsorption isotherm studies showed that the synthetic adsorbent had three to four times more TCE capacity than GAC over a TCE concentration range of 10-2,000 ug/L. When preexposed for 24 weeks to a groundwater containing NOM, the synthetic adsorbent showed an average 12 percent loss in capacity compared with the single-solute isotherm performed on the virgin adsorbent; GAC showed an average 35 percent loss in its virgin capacity for a preexposed time of only 10 weeks. Rapid small-scale column tests and model calculations predicted pilot-plant effluent profiles for the synthetic adsorbent. The pilot-plant data confirmed that the synthetic adsorbent is more efficient than GAC in removing TCE. Includes 17 references, tables, figures.