Electrochemical behavior of Auramine O (AO) was studied by galvanostatic electrolysis at lead dioxide (Ta/PbO2) anodes. The influence of operating parameters, such as current density, initial concentration of AO, temperature and initial pH value was investigated. The oxidation kinetics of the AO was followed by HPLC, UV / visible spectrophotometry and the measurement of chemical oxygen demand (COD). The experimental results showed that the electrochemical process was suitable for almost completely removing COD, due to the production of the hydroxyl radicals at the anode surface. The oxidation of AO is dependent on its initial concentration, current density, temperature and pH. COD decay follows a pseudo first-order kinetic and the process was under mass transport control. The HPLC analysis showed that the main AO oxidation products formed during electrolysis are the hydroquinone (HQ) representing the reduced form of benzoquinone (BQ) and carboxylic acids (CA). The proposed AO anodic oxidation into (BQ) is mainly based on an alternance of indirect monoelectronic discharge by the mediation of hydroxyl radicals and hydrolysis steps. The electrochemical oxidation of AO can be used as an economically adequate way for a pre-treatment of waters containing this dye followed by biological treatment
