Electrochemical removal of bromide and reduction of disinfection by-product formation potential in drinking water

The objective of this study was to determine the technical feasibility of removing bromide by a electro-chemical technique. Water is passed between anodes and cathodes with a direct current applied between them. At the anode surface, bromide is oxidized to bromine while water is oxidized to hydrogen ions and oxygen gas. At pH of less than 3.5, bromine is more volatile than at other higher pHs and the evolving oxygen bubbles at the anode surface volatilize the bromine. The hypothesis that will be tested is that this technique can remove bromide from drinking water.;Seven phases of experiments are presented starting with fundamental electrochemical mechanistic and kinetic studies using potentiostats to small bench top experiments to large flow through reactors. New laboratory techniques to measure the formation potential of water to form disinfection by-products had to be developed. The process was shown to effectively remove a large enough portion of bromide from the largest single source of drinking water in California, the State Water Project to significantly reduce the waters potential to form disinfection by-products.