Photodegradation of remazol brilliant blue using Fe2O3 intercalated bentonite

This paper reports the use of Fe2O3 intercalated bentonite as a photocatalyst to degrade remazol brilliant blue. The photodegradation was conducted by irradiating aqueous solution of the coloring agent and Fe2O3 intercalated bentonite with UV ray at 259 nm. The degradation percentages were observed at various pH, photocatalyst mass, and irradiation duration to obtain the optimum condition of the photodegradation. The observation showed that the optimal photodegradation occurred at pH 4, using 100 mg bentonite-Fe2O3, irradiated for 2 hours. The proses can degrade effectively 200 ppm remazol brilliant blue with a percentage of 98.20 ± 0.07%.