Bromine’s APPLICATIONS symbol is Br Since bromine was discovered, various bromine compounds have been used in important fields such as It is part of the halogen REDUCTION OF ENERGY FLAME group of the MERCURY EMISSIONS STORAGE RETARDANTS periodic table. Hg

WATER CROP PROTECTION PHARMACEUTICALS TREATMENT

Focus BROMINE REDUCES MERCURY EMISSIONS BY 90%

Bromine is a reddish brown liquid. Bromine-based products are used to reduce toxic mercury emissions It is never naturally found in its from coal-fired power plants elemental form but in inorganic More than 40% of the world's electricity is The use of bromine in pollution control installations compounds, known also as generated by coal power plants 3. When coal is is one of the technologies proven to enhance the bromides, and in natural combusted, various chemicals including mercury (Hg) reduction of mercury emissions in a cost-effective bromo-organic compounds 1. are released. manner. These are found in soils, salts, air and Mercury is considered by the World Health Bromine-based compounds are adaptable and can Organization (WHO) as one of the top ten chemicals therefore be used at different stages of the process: sea water. of major public health concern 4. National laws along they can be added to the coal before combustion, with the international Minamata Convention 5 are brominated activated carbon can also be injected into pushing countries to find ways to reduce mercury the flue gas stream after combustion to capture the “Without bromine, emissions. mercury. there are no animals” Billy Hudson Ph.D - Vanderbilt University

A 2014 study 2 showed that WHY IS BROMINE EFFECTIVE TO COMBAT MERCURY EMISSIONS? bromine is part of the 28 elements Mercury is released when coal is burnt and takes three forms Without Bromine that are essential to human life. It in the flue gas: oxidized (Hg 2+ ), particulate (Hg P ) and HG 0 enables tissue development in all 0 animals and humans. elemental (Hg ). Elemental mercury is gaseous at combustion temperatures and therefore difficult to capture. HG 0 With HG 0 Bromine additives Bromide additives are used to convert the elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) to oxidized mercury (Hg 2+ ) which can then be captured more easily by emission control equipment. HG 2+ HG 2+ Abatement

Coal-fired boilers and power plant installations using this HG 2+ bromine-based technology can achieve mercury emissions reductions by about 90% 6. After having been captured by emission control equipment, HG 0 Bromine was discovered by the HG 0 mercury is retrieved and carefully handled. HG 0 0 Br HG 0 French scientist HG HG 0 1 Gordon W. Gribble, The diversity of naturally occurring organobromine Antoine Balard compounds, Chemical Society Reviews, 1999, link 2 Billy G. Hudson, et al. Bromine is an essential trace element for in 1826 assembly of collagen IV scaffolds in tissue development and while he was studying salt marsh architecture. Cell, 2014; vol. 157, link flora from Mediterranean waters in 3 International Energy Agency, link France. He crystallized the salts and 4 World Health Organisation, link Coal saturated the remaining liquid with 5 Minamata Mercury Convention, link chlorine. What was left behind after 6 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Mercury Control Technologies at Coal-Fired Power Plants Have Achieved Substantial Emissions distillation was a dark red liquid: Reductions, link bromine.

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