Removal of Anionic and Cationic Dyes from Wastewater Using Activated Carbon from Palm Tree Fiber Waste

This study focuses on using a facile method for the green preparation of activated carbon (AC) from palm tree fiber (PTF) waste. The synthesized cost-effective AC was investigated for the removal of an anionic dye (Congo red, CR) and a cationic dye (Rhodamine B, RhB) from wastewater. The morphological and structural characterization of the synthesized AC were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), surface area, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), total pore volume, average pore diameter and pore size distribution, zeta potential, and zero-point charge. To investigate the adsorption efficiency, different parameters such as adsorbent dosage, solution pH, initial dye concentration, and duration were applied using the batch experiments. Various adsorption isotherm and kinetics models were applied to study the adsorption mechanism and dynamics. The results showed that chemical activation with a weak acid (H3PO4) at 400 °C for 30 min is a fast method for the activation of each precursor and produces a high yield. The result of analysis showed an increase in the adsorption capacity at pH 2. The maximum adsorption capacity was 9.79 and 26.58 mg g−1 at 30 min for CR dye and RhB dye, respectively. The optimum adsorbent dosage for the activated carbon from palm tree fiber (PTFAC) was 0.15 g with a high percentage removal of CR (98.24%) and RhB (99.86%) dyes. The adsorption isotherm and kinetic studies were found to be favorable and feasible for assessing the adsorption of dyes with the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order reaction, respectively. In addition, the AC showed reusability up to five cycles. The results showed that the synthesized AC was environmentally friendly and successfully removed dyes from wastewater.