## 1 Introduction  
Climate change and accompanying alterations in hydrology, precipitation patterns, and water quality parameters have increasingly adverse impacts on the performance of physical and chemical conventional water and wastewater treatment operations due to higher fluctuations in incoming waters for treatment. Additionally, the increasing rate of industrial growth and corresponding water contamination has raised concerns about variations in treated water and wastewater quality. The introduction of innovative and sustainable treatment technologies which demonstrate robust removal capacities to remove various structured contaminants becomes increasingly important. Synthetic dyes are one of the most common contaminants within industrial waste effluent discharges, spanning a variety of industries such as textiles, paper, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics [1, 2]. More than 700,000 tons (7 \(\times\) 10\({}^{8}\) kg), composed of over 100,000 types of commercial synthetic dyes, are produced annually and subsequently threaten the aquatic environment [3, 4]. Dye discharges have a variety of adverse impacts, with dye concentrations in the range of 10-20 mg/L in the aquatic environment impeding light penetration, which disrupts photosynthetic processes and adversely impacts food chains [3, 5]. Furthermore, dye concentrations as low as 1 mg/L have been linked to carcinogenic and mutagenic impacts on human and biotic health [2, 6]. The detrimental impacts of synthetic dyes on health and the environment, as well as limitations in conventional treatment methods to remove these toxic contaminants are not only a major concern but also a challenge [7]. Adsorption is one of the most efficient and easy-to-implement techniques for the removal of synthetic dyes, as well as other organic pollutants, from drinking water and wastewater [8; 9]. Currently, zeolite NaY (NaY) and granular activated carbon (GAC) are two common adsorbents in water and wastewater applications used to remove dyes, as well as a variety of other contaminants [4; 10]. NaY is generated from networks of aluminum and silicate groups and is characterized by a highly organized crystalline structure with a uniform pore size distribution [11]. Several studies have reported on NaY as a potential adsorbent for removal of synthetic dyes such as methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV), and fuchsine (FS) [12; 13]. It appears that NaY's adsorption is relative to its surface area and particle size; thus, it demonstrates a selective adsorption behavior limited by its pore size and structure. This characteristic can impede NaY ability to remove specific molecular sizes and structures of synthetic dyes and other organic contaminants. Removal of MB has been favorably reported, with upwards of 92% removal with NaY [14]. However, removal of rhodamine B (RhB) has been less favorable, with only a 10% removal efficiency [12]. However, modification of NaY has been reported to improve performance; for instance, [PERSON] et al. impregnated NaY with niobium (Nb) and palladium (Pd) to create a zeolite catalyst for the photodegradation of RhB [12]. The removal efficiency of PdNaY and NbNaY was reported to be 64% and 91%, respectively [12]; while this modification yielded interesting results, it did require the addition of a light source to enhance the removal efficacy of the RhB with the modified NaY. In comparison to NaY, GAC has a wider range of pore sizes and is considered a more versatile candidate for the removal of contaminants with varying molecular sizes in aqueous solutions [4; 11]; it therefore may naturally be a better potential adsorbent for MB without needing modification. GAC is one of the most popular choices for adsorption in water and wastewater treatment applications and it is made from either coal or waste organic carbon products [11]. [PERSON] et al. [4] reported removal of MB from water with adsorption capacity values of 1263, 704, and 181 mg/g was achieved using banana peel, sucrose and coffee grounds-based activated carbon, respectively. [PERSON] et al.