Degradation of methylene blue: optimization of operating condition through a statistical technique and environmental estimate of the treated wastewater.

FeO(x)-MoO(3)-P(2)O(5) (x=1 or 1.5) composite catalyst was prepared by solid reaction method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Its catalytic activities on degradation of a heteropolyaromatic dye, methylene blue (MB), were also investigated under mild condition. In order to determine the optimum operating condition, the orthogonal experiments were devised. And the results revealed that initial concentration of MB was the key factor that affected the decoloration, while the catalysts dose has an insignificant effect. Environmental estimation was also done and the results showed that the treated wastewater have little influence on plant growth and could totally be applied to irrigation.