Heterogeneous UV-Fenton catalytic degradation of dyestuff in water with hydroxyl-Fe pillared bentonite

In recent years, much attention has been focused on developing heterogeneous catalyst for Fenton or photo-Fenton process to reuse the catalyst and avoid the possible pollution caused by the metal ions in the solution. Through cation exchange reaction, hydroxyl-Fe pillared bentonite (H-Fe-P-B) was successfully prepared as a solid catalyst for UV-Fenton process. Compared with raw bentonite, the content of iron, interlamellar distance and external surface area of H-Fe-P-B increased remarkably. Heterogeneous UV-Fenton catalytic degradation of azo-dye Acid Light Yellow G (ALYG) was investigated in aqueous using UVA (365 nm) light as irradiation source. The effects of H2O2 concentration, catalyst dosage, initial pH and temperature on degradation of ALYG were studied in detail. The results demonstrated that the H-Fe-P-B had high catalytic activity. In optimal operation conditions, more than 98% discoloration and 65% TOC removal of 50 mg/L ALYG could be achieved after 120 min treatment. The iron leaching rates of H-Fe-P-B were all below 0.6% in multiple runs in the degradation of ALYG, which indicated that the heterogeneous catalyst had long-term stability and activity. Another advantage of this catalyst was its strong surface acidity, which made the range of pH for heterogeneous UV-Fenton system extended from 3.0 to 9.0. The results indicated that the H-Fe-P-B was a promising catalyst for heterogeneous UV-Fenton system.