Unlocking the valorization potential of Rooibos tea waste-derived activated carbon in the adsorptive removal of remazol brilliant blue R dye

In this work, we report the use of spent rooibos tea leaves to fabricate activated carbon and use it to adsorptively remove the toxic Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) from the aqueous solution. The resulting activated carbon (SRTLAC) was characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller N₂ adsorption/desorption for surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction for morphological, functional group and crystallinity analyses. A Taguchi design approach was employed to determine the optimal conditions for the RBBR adsorption onto SRTLAC. Among the process variables studied, the sorbent dosage, initial concentration, and pH predominantly affected the removal capacity. The maximum removal of 246.5 mg/g was attained at the highest initial RBBR concentration of 120 mg/L, solution pH of 2, sorbent dosage of 20 mg, and agitation time of 110 min. The analysis of variance results showed that RBBR initial concentration contributed the most significant percentage (95.33 %) towards the removal uptake, highlighting its considerable impact. The adsorption data collected at various concentrations (20 – 120 mg/L) were modelled using three non-linear regression isotherms and kinetic models. The Langmuir isotherm model provided the optimal fit for adsorption, suggesting a monolayer and homogenous sorption system with a maximum capacity of 491.38 mg/g. Meanwhile, the pseudo-2^nd order kinetic models accurately elucidated the sorption mechanism. The RBBR species interacted with the SRTLAC functional groups via hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole interactions, and ion-dipole forces. Therefore, SRTLAC presents a powerful tool for ridding the environment of RBBR dye pollution.