Phenolic compounds are widely present in domestic and industrial sewage and have serious environmental hazards. Electrochemical oxidation (EO) is one of the most promising methods for sewage degradation because of its high efficiency, environmental compatibility, and safety. In this work, we present an in-depth overview of the mechanism and factors affecting the degradation of phenolic compounds by EO. In particular, the effects of treatment of phenolic compounds with different anode materials are discussed in detail. The non-active anode shows higher degradation efficiency, less intermediate accumulation, and lower energy consumption than the active anode. EO combined with other treatment methods (biological, photo, and Fenton) presents advantages, such as low energy consumption and high degradation rate. Meanwhile, the remaining drawbacks of the EO process in the phenolic compound treatment system have been discussed. Furthermore, future research directions are put forward to improve the feasibility of the practical application of EO technology.

酚类化合物广泛存在于生活和工业污水中，具有严重的环境危害。电化学氧化（EO）具有高效、环保、安全等优点，是最有前景的污水降解方法之一。在这项工作中，我们深入概述了影响 EO 降解酚类化合物的机制和因素。特别是，详细讨论了用不同阳极材料处理酚类化合物的效果。与活性阳极相比，非活性阳极表现出更高的降解效率、更少的中间积累和更低的能耗。EO与其他处理方法（生物、光子和芬顿）相结合，具有能耗低、降解率高等优点。同时，已经讨论了酚类化合物处理系统中 EO 工艺的其余缺点。此外，提出了未来的研究方向，以提高 EO 技术实际应用的可行性。