Optimization of dye adsorption by bamboo activated carbon using Taguchi approach

The search for sustainable adsorbents to treat textile wastewater is an important environmental issue. This study presents the formation of high-surface-area activated carbon from bamboo sticks, which is a common agricultural waste, for the effective removal of Remazol Brilliant Orange 3 R dye. The adsorbent was made using chemical activation with phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) at two carbonisation temperatures, 600°C and 700°C. The material produced at 600°C had a superior specific surface area of 521.11 m²/g and a better porous structure, which improved adsorption performance. Adsorption isotherm analysis showed that the process followed the Langmuir model, with a maximum monolayer capacity of 15.31 mg/g for the carbon produced at 600°C. We optimized four key parameters (pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration) using the Taguchi design of experiment with an L16 orthogonal array. We achieved a remarkable removal efficiency of over 99% at pH 3, with a dosage of 0.5 g and a contact time of 60 minutes. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicated that contact time was the most significant factor. This work confirms that bamboo is an effective precursor for activated carbon and shows how useful the Taguchi method is for optimizing adsorption processes.