romMax^® technology is covered by at least three U.S.-issued patents. In the late 1990s, Nalco applied for and received a patent for its version of stabilized bromine. The process is quite simple. Sodium bromide is oxidized with sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and subsequently stabilized using a nitrogen-sulfur based organic acid, which is the typical stabilizer for all stabilized bromine formulations and processes. The active bromine (reported as active Cl) is 6.0%. The process has several major drawbacks.

Due to the alkaline conditions created by mixing bleach and sodium bromide, a considerable amount of bromate ion is created, which is a suspected carcinogen and is tightly regulated by the EPA in drinking water, lakes, rivers, and water table aquifers. Secondly, its uppermost concentration is limited by the strength of the commercial bleach (12-15% as NaOCl) that is used to make the product.

In 2002 Enviro Tech discovered a completely new way to make stabilized bromine. The process created almost 40% fewer salts and inert by-products that plague all manufacturers of stabilized bromine products. The end-product is almost identical to Nalco's and Albemarle's, with the exception that we are able to stabilize the bromine at 10.2% (as Cl). This equates to 67% and 48% more active bromine than Nalco or Albemarle, respectively.

Enviro Tech's process is quite ingenious. Sodium bromide is oxidized by a solid known as trichlor (trichloroisocyanuric acid), which is 91% available chlorine. The trick was to utilize the trichlor and extract its chlorine in a liquid process. Considering trichlor is only very marginally soluble in water makes the process that much more unique. Because trichlor is solid, no extraneous water is introduced to dilute the product as is the case when using 12-15% NaOCl bleach. Also, trichlor contains no solubility-limiting inert NaCl salts.

In 2008 a new product has been introduced to the stabilized bromine market by a company called Justeq, LLC. The product is NOT stabilized bromine. It is stabilized CHLORINE with unreacted sodium bromide added to the product. Nalco evaluated this product extensively, as did Great Lakes (Chemtura) and other companies. Nalco has several references to this alternative product in a patent listed below, for your reading convenience.

BromMax Patent #3 US07455859B2

Nalco Patent Stabilized Chlorine vs. Bromine

BromMax Patent #1 Issued 5-16-06 (2.75MB)

Bromine B Patent 7309503 (1MB)