Heterogeneous Fenton Degradation of Methyl Orange Using Fe–Al–Ce Bentonite As Catalyst

Abstract—In this work, methyl orange (MO) was degraded by the heterogeneous Fenton method using bentonite supported by Fe, Al, and Ce as the catalyst. The stability of the catalyst was evaluated by measuring the dye removal rate over four reaction cycles and measuring the ion leaching amount by ICP. The Fenton catalyst samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR, XPS, and N₂ adsorption isotherms. Based on the experiments on the capture of active species, the possible mechanism of MO decolorization by catalyst was proposed. The effects of pH, H₂O₂ concentration, catalyst dosage and other main parameters on the decolorization of MO were investigated. The results showed that the MO decolorization rate increased with increased H₂O₂ concentration and catalyst addition in the 120 min decolorization experiments, but decreased with the increase of the initial pH. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the total removal rate of MO reached 96.95%.