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Decolorization of C.I. Basic Red 46 (BR46) by the oxalate catalyzed photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) process based on carbon nanotube-polytetrafluoroethylene (CNT-PTFE) cathode under visible light was studied. A comparison of electro-Fenton (EF), photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) and PEF/oxalate processes for decolorization of BR46 solution has been performed. Results showed that color removal follows the decreasing order: PEF/oxalate>PEF>EF. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to assess individual and interactive effects of the four main independent parameters (initial dye, Fe³⁺ and oxalate concentrations and electrolysis time) on decolorization efficiency. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a high coefficient of determination value (R²=0.959). The optimum initial dye concentration, the initial amount of Fe³⁺, the initial oxalate concentration and the electrolysis time were found to be 10mg/l, 0 …