The ability of a fixed bed of carbon pellets to work as anode in destroying chlorophenols (ClPhs) was verified. The applied current is able to continuously regenerate the external active sites of the carbon surface on which oxygen and organic are adsorbed. The low organic coverage degree of carbon, which can be maintained during runs, hinders phenol diffusion to the interior of the pellets: only the external pores are involved in the process. Preliminary runs are also presented at dimensional stable anodes (DSA(R)) based on Ru-Ti oxides. The results indicate that if a divided electrochemical cell is used, the behaviour of DSA(R) approaches that of Ti/SnO2 electrode: the reactant can be oxidised without accumulation of cyclic intermediates, thus limiting the toxicity of the resulting solution. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.