A B S T R A C TRecent studies have shown that kaolinite clay modified with biosorbents are promising low cost adsorbents for the removal of metals from aqueous solution because the resultant composites have higher adsorption capacities, and hence a better aqueous metal ions removal efficiencies. However, some clay properties suggest that not all such modifications enhance adsorption capacity. In this study, bentonite (BEN) clay was calcined after modification with Carica papaya seeds or pine cone to obtain C. papaya-modified bentonite (CPB) and pine cone-modified bentonite (PCB). The efficiencies of these adsorbents for the removal of Pb(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions were studied as a function of pH, time, sorbate concentration and temperature. X-ray diffraction results showed that CPB and PCB had lattice structure as BEN, but reductions in the surface areas of CPB and PCB were observed. Adsorption results showed that pH did not significantly affect removal of aqueous metal ions between pH 3 and 7. The adsorption fitted pseudo-second order (r 2 ! 0.966) and intra-particle diffusion models and indicated mainly surface phenomena involving sharing of electrons between the adsorbent surfaces and the metal ion species. Unlike Cu(II) and Cd(II), Pb(II) adsorption reduced in CPB and PCB indicating that not all calcined biomass-clay composites have enhanced aqueous metal adsorption efficiency. However, undesired properties such as adsorbent bleeding were removed and mechanical strength enhanced while easier separation of the adsorbents from solution as compared to the raw bentonite was observed.