Activated Carbon Derived from Olive Waste for the Adsorption of Methylene Blue and Methyl Orange Dyes

Abstract Various biomasses have been used as sustainable alternatives in the production of activated carbon for effluent treatment. This study applies Tunisian olive waste as a precursor source for the production of activated carbon (AC), through chemical activation (H 3 PO 4 ). The AC was characterized through X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and N 2 adsorption desorption. The adsorption of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange dyes (MO) onto the AC was investigated under various experimental conditions. The efficiency of removing the MB and MO increases with the addition of contact time and dosage. The optimum pH conditions for MB and MO were 7 and 2 respectively. The maximum adsorptions were achieved at 0.21 g for the two colorants. The adsorption isotherm process fits well with the Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacity was 34.3 and 40.5 mg g −1 for MO and MB, respectively. The adsorption kinetics data fitted well with the pseudo‐second‐order model, suggesting the chemisorption process. The obtained results reveal that AC can be used successfully to remove methyl orange and methylene blue dyes from wastewater.