Bromide and iodide selectivity in membrane capacitive deionisation, and its potential application to reduce the formation of disinfection by-products in water treatment

Abstract The formation of toxic disinfection by-products during water disinfection due to the presence of bromide and iodide is a major concern. Current treatment technologies such as membrane, adsorption and electrochemical processes have been known to have limitations such as high energy demand and excessive chemical use. In this study, the selectivity between bromide and iodide, and their removal in membrane capacitive deionisation (MCDI) was evaluated. The results showed that iodide was more selectively removed over bromide from several binary feed waters containing bromide and iodide under various initial concentrations and applied voltages. Even in the presence of significant background concentration of sodium chloride, definite selectivity of iodide over bromide was observed. The high partial-charge transfer coefficient of iodide compared to bromide could be a feasible explanation for high iodide selectivity since both bromide and iodide have similar ionic charge and hydrated radius. The result also shows that MCDI can be a potential alternative for the removal of bromide and iodide during water treatment.