Summary: | Food wastes, namely, noodles (NOD), were used in the study as a recyclable precursor for activated carbon (NODAC) synthesis by microwave-induced KOH activation. NODAC’s capacity to adsorb the cationic dye (brilliant green; BG) from the aqueous environment was evaluated. The desirability character of response surface methodology (RSM) was used to investigate several key adsorption variables: (A) NODAC dosage (0.02–0.1 g), (B) pH (4–10), and (C) duration (10–200 min). The Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms revealed good agreement with the experimental results. The kinetics of dye adsorption is well-described by the pseudo-second-order model. NODAC’s uptake capacity for BG was outstanding (318.5 mg/g). BG adsorption by NODAC involves various processes including electrostatic forces, π-π stacking, and H-bonding. This study demonstrates the utility of NOD as an easily accessible feedstock for the preparation of NODAC as an adsorbent for the efficient removal of dye-based pollutants from contaminated water. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023.
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