Dewaxed
honeycomb powder (HCP) was used as a promising adsorbent for removal
of malachite green (MG) from aqueous solution. Raw honeycomb was strategically
dewaxed by petroleum ether, and the purified product was characterized
by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron
microscopy (SEM), pH
zpc
, and proximate analysis. A high
uptake capacity (123 mg/g) was found at neutral pH. Experimental data
follow pseudo-second-order kinetics (
k
2
as 0.45 × 10
–2
g/min/mg,
R
2
= 0.986) and Langmuir isotherm with
R
2
0.999. Thermodynamic parameters suggested a spontaneous
(Δ
G
= −26.28 kJ/mol) and exothermic
(Δ
H
= −11.61 kJ/mol) process, which
suggests increased randomness (Δ
S
= 0.0486
kJ/mol) at the solid–liquid interface during the adsorption
process. The material can be regenerated by ordinary salt solution
(1 M NaCl) and efficiently reused for three cycles with a minimal
loss in efficiency. Adsorption mechanism is proposed to be a combination
of electrostatic interaction and π–π stacking between
aromatic units of HCP and MG. Abundant availability, possibility of
wax commercialization, economic sustainability, and comprehensive
waste management make HCP an ideal choice for dye decolorization.