Bromine was discovered in 1826 by the French chemist Antoine-Jérôme Balard in the residues from the manufacture of sea salt at Montpellier. He liberated the element by passing chlorine through an aqueous solution of the residues, that contained magnesium bromide. Distillation of the material with manganese dioxide and sulfuric acid produced red vapours, which condensed to a dark liquid. The similarity of this procedure to that for making chlorine suggested to Balard that he had obtained a new element similar to chlorine. German chemist Justus von Liebig supposedly had obtained the element before Balard, but he wrongly considered it to be iodine chloride.) Because of the bad odour of the element, the French Academy of Sciences suggested the name bromine, from the Greek word bromos, meaning bad smell or stench. Bromine is a reddish brown liquid with an appreciable vapour pressure at room temperature. Bromine has a pungent odour and is irritating to the skin, eyes, and respiratory system. Exposure to concentrated …show more content…
The product of the reaction is a dilute solution of bromine, from which the element is removed by blowing air through it. After that the free bromine is then mixed with sulfur dioxide, and the mixed gases are passed up a tower down which water is trickling. The industrial use of bromine was dominated by ethylene bromide. Bromine compounds have mainly been used in flame retardants,due to leaded gasoline. Ethylene bromide is still an important compound because of its use to destroy pests in