Abstract In this study, orange peel waste was successfully sulfonated with SO₃-pyridine complex in 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid in various reaction conditions. ¹H NMR was used to verify the occurrence of the reaction and to select the most promising material for the adsorption experiments. The degree of substitution of the sulfonated orange peel waste used for cobalt and copper removal was found to be 0.82. It was prepared with the reaction temperature and time of 70 ℃ and 60 min respectively and with the SO₃-pyridine complex to-peel waste ratio of 5:1. The selected material combined with ultrafiltration removed 98% of copper and 91% of cobalt from single metal solutions and 93% of copper and 83% of cobalt from binary metal solution at pH 5 with adsorbent dosage of 12.5 mg/100 mL and initial metal concentration of 8 mg/L. Preliminary experiments were also performed with apple pomace which was sulfonated in the conditions found best for the orange peel waste. The prepared sulfonated apple pomace proved to be almost as effective in cobalt and copper removal as sulfonated orange peel waste, removing 82% of copper and 77% of cobalt from binary metal solution with 12.5 mg/100 mL dosage at pH 5 and an initial metal concentration of 8 mg/L.