AbstractAgricultural by‐products are generally poor adsorbents of anions in solution. Therefore, modification of the by‐product could enhance its anion exchange capabilities. The objective of this study was to increase the anion exchange properties of the agricultural by‐product, soybean hulls, by chemical modification. Soybean hulls were quaternized with the quaternizing agent, N‐(3‐chloro‐2‐hydroxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride, in the presence of a strongly alkaline environment. This modification increased the amount of positive charge on the hulls as evidenced by increased nitrogen content and increased uptake of anions compared with the unmodified hulls. A method to optimize the anion exchange properties of the hulls was developed. Ion exchange properties of the hulls toward anions of environmental significance, namely arsenate (As), chromate (Cr), dichromate (Cr2), phosphate (P) and selenate (Se) were determined. The modified hulls were also compared with commercial cellulose‐based and synthetic anion exchange resins in their ability to remove these anions from solution. The experimental and commercial resins were also compared for their ability to remove a mixture of arsenate, chromate, dichromate and selenate from laboratory prepared solutions to levels below the maximum contaminant levels for these anions in drinking water as specified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Our results demonstrate that the soy hull resin is more efficient in anion removal than the commercial cellulose‐based resin but not as effective as the commercial synthetic resin. Published in 2003 for SCI by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.