Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Water Process Engineering, cilt.89, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The sustainable valorization of agro-industrial residues into high-performance adsorbents, combined with reliable adsorption modeling, represents a promising strategy for wastewater treatment. In this study, a high-surface-area activated carbon ( S BET = 984 m2 g−1) was synthesized from tea industry waste via KOH-assisted chemical activation and applied for methylene blue removal from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent exhibited excellent performance, achieving a maximum experimental adsorption capacity of 344.5 mg g−1. Beyond material development, a transparent framework for adsorption model evaluation is proposed. Kinetic and equilibrium data were analyzed using linear, nonlinear, and pseudo-linear regression approaches. For multi-parameter isotherms, explicit linear forms were combined with nonlinear estimation to construct a reproducible pseudo-linear strategy. Nonlinear optimization employed five error functions (SSE, ARE, MPSD, HYBRID, and MAE). To enable objective comparison, errors were normalized and aggregated as the Sum of Normalized Errors (SNE), and model selection was based on the Normalized Total Error (NTE). Results showed that nonlinear and pseudo-linear approaches outperform linear regression, while the Avrami model best describes adsorption kinetics, indicating heterogeneous mechanisms. The proposed framework offers a systematic and reproducible methodology for reliable adsorption modeling. This approach enhances comparability across studies and reduces subjectivity in model interpretation and decision making. Environmental implication This study demonstrates the sustainable valorization of tea industry waste (TIW) into a high-performance activated carbon for the efficient removal of hazardous dyes from aqueous systems. By converting large-scale agricultural residues into value-added adsorbents, the proposed approach reduces solid waste burden while supporting circular economy principles. The synthesized material exhibits high adsorption capacity (344.5 mg g−1) and favorable kinetics, highlighting its practical applicability and scalability for industrial wastewater treatment. In addition, the applied modeling approach improves the reliability of adsorption data interpretation and supports the design and optimization of adsorption systems for the removal of persistent organic pollutants from water.