Electrochemical oxidation of 2,6 dichlorophenol was carried out at DSA electrodes and the influence of different operating conditions on the reaction mechanism was investigated.  The effects of the operating parameters on DCP removal suggested that during degradation of the phenolic compounds, two different mechanisms can occur, the relative importance of which strongly depended on the composition of the solution.  In paricular, when solutions also contained chlorides, the best indirect oxidation performance by means of electrogenerated HClO was obtained by operating at such conditions that the reaction front was located inside the diffusion layer thickness, near to the anode surface.

In acid media, the presence of oxidative species in solution, even during electrolysis of the only supporting electrolyte, or when chlorides were not specifically added to the solution, suggested that the oxidant agents could be the O₂H radicals that can be formed at the anode as intermediate products in the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide.