Goethite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton catalyst for the degradation of methyl orange

•Goethite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton catalyst was used to degrade methyl orange.•The catalyst stability of synthesized goethite was evaluated.•The effects of important parameters on color removal were investigated.•The changes of TOC and acute toxicity were determined.

The heterogeneous Fenton process was employed to degrade methyl orange (MO) using goethite as the catalyst. The catalyst stability was evaluated by measuring color removal in three successive cycles. The goethite samples before and after the reaction were characterized by XRD, SEM and FTIR techniques. The effect of major parameters, including pH, H2O2 concentration, catalyst addition and initial dye concentration on the decolorization of MO was investigated. The results indicated that the MO decolorization rate increased with the increase of H2O2 concentration and catalyst addition, but decreased with the increase of initial MO concentration. The optimal initial pH for the decolorization was found as 3. The acute toxicity experiments illustrated that the Daphnia magna mortality declined with the progress of the oxidation.

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