Fe–clay as effective heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the decolorization of Reactive Blue 4

Decolorization of anthraquinone dye Reactive Blue 4 (RB4) in an aqueous solution was investigated by using Fe–ball clay (Fe–BC) as heterogeneous catalyst. The best reacting conditions were found to be 0.80 wt.% of iron ions loading on ball clay (BC) when the dosage of catalyst is 5.0 g L−1 with initial pH of 3.0, [H2O2]0 of 8 mM, [RB4]0 of 50 mg L−1 at temperature 30 °C. Under these conditions, 99% decolorization efficiency of RB4 was achieved within 140 min reaction time. The results indicated that Fe–BC has proven to be a superior heterogeneous catalyst for decolorization of RB4 in an aqueous solution.

► Decolorization of Reactive Blue 4 (RB4) in an aqueous solution was investigated using Fe–ball clay.
► Fe–clay is effective heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the decolorization of RB4.
► Under these conditions, 99% decolorization efficiency of RB4 was achieved within 140 min.
► Fe–BC catalyst demonstrates a small iron leaching.