Electrochemical methods for pollution abatement have been shown to be viable alternatives or complementary to biological treatment in some instances, especially when pollutants are recalcitrant to biological processing. Electrochemical oxidation and reduction have been found successful in decomposing the most resilient compounds, and electrolysis is assigned an important role in the elucidation of the electrode process. Small well-defined cathodic and anodic peak were observed that on control led-potential electrolysis (CPE) reduced substantially with a considerable decrease in color and absorbance. The rate of decrease of the current and absorbance was found to exhibit a first-order dependence. The COD of the solutions showed a decrease from 1416 to 352 mg/L. No peak could be observed in the voltammograms after CPE, indicating the absence of any electroactive substance left in the solutions. Results show that electrochemical reduction is a superior technology for treatment of dyes, as there is no simultaneous addition of anions, such as sulfate or chloride. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.