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WHY BROMINE IN SPAS? BETTER AT HIGHER PH RANGES!

Posted by Yvonne Schnurr on Wed, Dec 11, 2013 @ 10:20 AM

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THERE ARE MULITPLE REASONS for bromine's dominance as a hot tub sanitizer, but the most important is the fact that bromine is more active at higher pH range than chlorine.

Chlorine exists in two different forms - free chlorine (HOCI, hypochlorous acid, the good and powerful sanitizer) and hypochlorite (OCI -, the much less effective ion). At a pH of 7.5 there's about 50 percent of each.

That 50/50 situation occurs higher up the pH scale (where hot tubs tend to opperate) for bromine. As a direct comparision, at a pH of 7.5, bromine (HOBr), active to inactive.

In a hot tub enviroment, with higher temperatures and agitation from jets, pH tends to rise into the 7.8 -8.2 range. At that level, bromine produces much more active sanitizer than chlorine, which loses its effectiveness at higher pH.

See the chart below:

Chlorine & bromine sanitizers

Vs. pH

HOCI: Most active, powerful form of chlorine sanitizer

OCI: Weaker chlorine sanitizer

HOBr: Most active, powerful form of bromine sanitizer

OBr: Weaker bromine sanitizer

7.0

76%

24%

98%

2%

7.2

66%

34%

96%

4%

7.5

50%

50%

94%

6%

7.8

33%

67%

87%

13%

8.0

24%

76%

83%

17%

 

Tags: How to get the best value, Hot Tubs, Chlorine & bromine sanitizers, HOCI: Most active, powerful form of chlorine sanitizer OCI: Weaker ch, HOBr: Most active, powerful form of bromine sanitizer OBr: Weaker bro