Hybrid montmorillonite-alginate beads (MABs) were prepared by the ion-gelation method from alginate and montmorillonite clay suspension dropped in a calcium chloride solution. Similarly, iron-enriched beads (Fe-MABs) were prepared using iron-exchanged montmorillonite. All beads were characterized by atomic absorption and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The efficiency of Fe-MABs as catalysts for the solar photo-Fenton performed at initial pH = 7.0 was evaluated by varying the catalyst amount and hydrogen peroxide concentration, and monitoring the removal of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) at initial concentration of 10 ppm. A kinetic analysis showed that the removal of 4-NP by Fe-MABs followed a pseudo first-order kinetics model (R-2 = 0.966). High 4-NP removal (75%) was achieved with 25 Fe-MABs by using 150 ppm of hydrogen peroxide and 40 min of irradiation, while total 4-NP removal was obtained by using 500 ppm of hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, preliminary studies about beads' recycling showed good removal efficiencies for the first three cycles. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.