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Traditional physicochemical and biological techniques, as well as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), are often inadequate, ineffective, or expensive for industrial water reclamation. Within this context, the electrochemical technologies have found a niche where they can become dominant in the near future, especially for the abatement of biorefractory substances. In this critical review, some of the most promising electrochemical tools for the treatment of wastewater contaminated by organic pollutants are discussed in detail with the following goals: (1) to present the fundamental aspects of the selected processes; (2) to discuss the effect of both the main operating parameters and the reactor design on their performance; (3) to critically evaluate their advantages and disadvantages; and (4) to forecast the prospect of their utilization on an applicable scale by identifying the key points to be further investigated. The review is focused on the direct electrochemical oxidation, the indirect electrochemical oxidation mediated by electrogenerated active chlorine, and the coupling between anodic and cathodic processes. The last part of the review is devoted to the critical assessment of the reactors that can be used to put these technologies into practice.

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In recent years, there has been increasing interest in finding innovative solutions for the efficient removal of contaminants from water, soil and air. The present tutorial review summarizes the results of an extensive selection of papers dealing with electrochemical oxidation, which is proposed as an alternative for treating polluted wastes. Both the direct and indirect approaches are considered, and the role of electrode materials is discussed together with that of other experimental parameters. Apart from discussing the possibility of removing selected contaminants from water using different anodes, efficiency rates for pollutant removal have been collected, the dependence of these rates on operational conditions advantages and disadvantages determining the further full-scale commercial application.

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The electrocoagulation (EC) process is an electrochemical means of introducing coagulants and removing suspended solids, colloidal material, and metals, as well as other dissolved solids from water and wastewaters. EC process has been successfully employed in removing pollutants, pesticides, and radionuclides. This process also removes harmful microorganisms. More often during EC operation, direct current is applied and electrode plates are sacrificed (dissolved into solution). The electrodissolution causes an increased metal concentration in the solution that finally precipitates as oxides and hydroxides. Due to the process design and low cost material, the EC process is widely accepted over other physicochemical processes. In this frame, this paper presents a general review of efficient EC technologies developed to remove organic and inorganic matter from wastewaters for environmental protection. Fundamentals and main applications of EC as well as progress of emerging EC treatments are reported. The influence of iron or aluminum anode on depollution of synthetic or real effluents is explained. The advantages of EC mechanisms with Al and Fe electrodes are extensively discussed. There are presented the advanced EC processes with in situ generation of hydroxyl radical. The importance of the operating parameters for efficient application of the EC process as well as the combination of this electrochemical technology with electroanalysis techniques and other technologies are commented.

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