Selective oxidation of bromide in wastewater brines from hydraulic fracturing

Brines generated from oil and natural gas production, including flowback water and produced water from hydraulic fracturing of shale gas, may contain elevated concentrations of bromide (∼1 g/L). Bromide is a broad concern due to the potential for forming brominated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during drinking water treatment. Conventional treatment processes for bromide removal is costly and not specific. Selective bromide removal is technically challenging due to the presence of other ions in the brine, especially chloride as high as 30–200 g/L. This study evaluates the ability of solid graphite electrodes to selectively oxidize bromide to bromine in flowback water and produced water from a shale gas operation in Southwestern PA. The bromine can then be outgassed from the solution and recovered, as a process well understood in the bromine industry. This study revealed that bromide may be selectively and rapidly removed from oil and gas brines (∼10 h−1 m−2 for produced water and ∼60 h−1 m−2 for flowback water). The electrolysis occurs with a current efficiency between 60 and 90%, and the estimated energy cost is ∼6 kJ/g Br. These data are similar to those for the chlor-alkali process that is commonly used for chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide production. The results demonstrate that bromide may be selectively removed from oil and gas brines to create an opportunity for environmental protection and resource recovery.