Water Contaminant Treatments

Bromine (Bromide)

Drinking Water Sources of Bromine (Bromide)

Bromine is found in seawater and exists as the bromide ion at a level of about 65 mg/l. Bromine has been used in swimming pools and cooling towers for disinfection, however use in drinking water is not recommended. Ethylene bromide is used as an anti-knock additive in gasoline and methyl bromide is a soil fumigant. Bromine is extremely reactive and corrosive, and will produce irritation and burning to exposed tissues. Over 0.05 mg/1 in fresh water may indicate the presence of industrial wastes, possibly from the use of pesticides of biocides containing bromine Bromide is extensively used in the pharrnaceutical industry, and occurs normally in blood in the range of 1.5 to 50 mg/l.

Treatment of Bromine (Bromide)

Reverse Osmosis will remove 93 - 96% of the bromide from drinking water. Since bromine is a disinfectant, it along with the disinfection by-products can also be removed with activated carbon, ultrafiltration, or electrodialysis.