Citation: Ziyu Zhao, Tianyue Qian, Changyu Yan, Xinhua He, Zhou Xu, Wenjing Li, Zhiling Xin, Huifang Zhang, Xuefeng Qian, Jiantao Zai. Efficient electrochemical bromine extraction from low-concentration brine via a flow electrolyzer[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(9): 111439. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111439 shu

Efficient electrochemical bromine extraction from low-concentration brine via a flow electrolyzer

Ziyu Zhao ^a ,
Tianyue Qian ^{a, *,} ,
Changyu Yan ^a ,
Xinhua He ^a ,
Zhou Xu ^a ,
Wenjing Li ^a ,
Zhiling Xin ^{b, *,} ,
Huifang Zhang ^{c, *,} ,
Xuefeng Qian ^a ,
Jiantao Zai ^{a, *,}

a.
Shanghai Electrochemical Energy Devices Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240, China
b.
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai 200090, China
c.
Key Laboratory of Green and High-end Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China

qiantianyue@sjtu.edu.cn

xinzhiling@126.com

zhanghf@isl.ac.cn

zaijiantao@sjtu.edu.cn

Received Date: 12 April 2025
Revised Date: 4 June 2025
Accepted Date: 10 June 2025
Available Online: 10 June 2025

Figures(6)

Bromine, a vital industrial chemical raw material with extensive applications, faces extraction challenges from diluted underground brine due to high energy consumption and low efficiency in conventional methods. In this study, we introduce a CO₂ activation of acid-thermal treated graphite felt (AHGF-Y) as a highly effective negative electrode for bromine extraction, achieving remarkable efficiency exceeding 90%. With enriched oxygen-containing functional groups introduced by CO₂ activation serving as active sites, the engineered bromine extraction electrodes demonstrates superior bromine oxidation reaction (BrOR) under high Cl/Br ratio conditions. Coupled with hydrogen production, in electrolyte with a Cl/Br ratio of 38, AHGF-Y operated at a low overpotential and achieved remarkable bromine extraction efficiency (94%), with minimal energy consumption (1.61 kJ/g). Notably, when applied to underground brine with high Cl/Br ratio of 255 and multiple interfering ions, AHGF-Y maintained extraction efficiency of 95.5%, significantly outperforming other reported works. Furthermore, AHGF-Y achieved an near-unity Faradaic efficiency (F.E.) of up to 99.7% in a scale-up hydrogen-bromine flow cell (HBFC), enabling simultaneous bromine extraction and hydrogen production. These results highlighted the potential of AHGF-Y as a sustainable and efficient material for large-scale bromine extraction from underground brine.
- Hydrogen-bromine flow cell,
- CO₂ activation,
- Bromine extraction,
- Low-concentration brine,
- Electrochemical oxidation
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142