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Abstract
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The removal of methylene blue (MB), a toxic dye commonly found in industrial wastewater, is crucial for environmental protection and human health. This study evaluates the potential of orange and lemon peel waste as biosorbents for the removal of MB from aqueous solutions. Both untreated and NaOH-modified citrus peels were tested under various experimental conditions including pH, initial dye concentration, and contact time. Results indicated that NaOH modification significantly enhanced the adsorption capacity by increasing the number of active functional groups on the surface of the peels. Optimal conditions for both peels were at pH 4, with lemon peel modified by NaOH (NLP-4-250) exhibiting the highest adsorption capacity of 238.8 mg/g, closely followed by orange peel (233.3 mg/g). These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of citrus peel waste, particularly when modified with NaOH, as an eco-friendly and cost-effective material for dye removal, offering a promising solution to wastewater treatment. Additionally, a comparison with previous studies showed that NaOHtreated citrus peels outperform other common adsorbents in terms of dye removal efficiency
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