Antibiotic residues are a primary environmental concern because they are difficult to remove, including in wastewater treatment plants. A one-pot glass wool-pyrolysis method was developed and utilised to convert palm kernel meal into activated carbon from palm kernel meal (AC-PKM) over process temperatures 750°C for 5 hr as an adsorbent for antibiotic residues. Physicochemical properties, semi-quantitative specific surface area, surface functional group profiles, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were evaluated. The physicochemical properties of AC-PKM meet the standards set by SNI 06-3730-1995 with a semiquantitative specific surface area of 751 m²/g. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis shows that the active functional groups are scattered on the surface of AC-PKM. The maximum adsorption capacity is 82.64 mg/g adsorbent and can be explained by the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order type I kinetic model. The thermodynamic investigation showed that the adsorption process is a spontaneous endothermic reaction. The AC-PKM can remove 26% ceftriaxone (as a model residue antibiotic) for 2 hr of contact at a neutral pH at room temperature. The results show great promise of the one-pot glass wool-pyrolysis method to produce desirable activated carbon for removing ceftriaxone (CFT) application and an alternative treatment for the reuse of palm kernel meal waste.