Editing Bromine (section)

===Other uses===
[[File:Bromo-Seltzer_Tower_MD2.jpg|thumb|upright|Baltimore's [[Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower]], originally part of the headquarters of Emerson Drug Company, which made [[Bromo-Seltzer]]]]
[[Silver bromide]] is used, either alone or in combination with [[silver chloride]] and [[silver iodide]], as the light sensitive constituent of [[photographic emulsion]]s.<ref name="Greenwood798" />

[[1,2-Dibromoethane|Ethylene bromide]] was an [[Gasoline additive|additive in gasolines]] containing lead anti-[[engine knocking]] agents. It scavenges lead by forming volatile lead bromide, which is exhausted from the engine. This application accounted for 77% of the bromine use in 1966 in the US. This application has declined since the 1970s due to environmental regulations (see below).<ref>{{Cite journal|journal = Environment International|volume = 29|date = 2003| doi = 10.1016/S0160-4120(03)00121-1|title = An overview of commercially used brominated flame retardants, their applications, their use patterns in different countries/regions and possible modes of release|first = Mehran|last = Alaeea|author2 = Ariasb, Pedro|author3 = Sjödinc, Andreas|author4 = Bergman, Åke|issue = 6|pmid=12850087|pages = 683–9| bibcode=2003EnInt..29..683A }}</ref>

[[Brominated vegetable oil]] (BVO), a complex mixture of plant-derived triglycerides that have been reacted to contain atoms of the element bromine bonded to the molecules, is used primarily to help emulsify citrus-flavored soft drinks, preventing them from separating during distribution.

Poisonous [[bromomethane]] was widely used as [[pesticide]] to [[Fumigation|fumigate]] soil and to fumigate housing, by the tenting method. Ethylene bromide was similarly used.<ref name="USGSYB2007" /> These volatile organobromine compounds are all now regulated as [[ozone depletion]] agents. The [[Montreal Protocol|Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer]] scheduled the phase out for the [[ozone depleting]] chemical by 2005, and organobromide pesticides are no longer used (in housing fumigation they have been replaced by such compounds as [[sulfuryl fluoride]], which contain neither the chlorine or bromine organics which harm ozone). Before the Montreal protocol in 1991 (for example) an estimated 35,000 tonnes of the chemical were used to control [[nematode]]s, [[fungi]], [[weed]]s and other soil-borne diseases.<ref>{{cite web|title = Alternatives to Methyl Bromide for the Control of Soil-Borne Diseases and Pests in California|first = Belinda|last = Messenger|author2 = Braun, Adolf|date = 2000|publisher = Pest Management Analysis and Planning Program|url = https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/emon/methbrom/alt-anal/sept2000.pdf|access-date = 2008-11-17|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100421041145/https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/emon/methbrom/alt-anal/sept2000.pdf|archive-date = 2010-04-21|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Economics of the "Critical Use" of Methyl bromide under the Montreal Protocol|doi = 10.1093/cep/byi028|journal =Contemporary Economic Policy|volume = 23|pages = 376–393|date = 2008|first = Stephen J.|last = Decanio|author2=Norman, Catherine S.|issue = 3}}</ref>

In pharmacology, inorganic [[bromide]] compounds, especially [[potassium bromide]], were frequently used as general sedatives in the 19th and early 20th century. Bromides in the form of simple salts are still used as anticonvulsants in both veterinary and human medicine, although the latter use varies from country to country. For example, the U.S. [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) does not approve bromide for the treatment of any disease, and [[sodium bromide]] was removed from over-the-counter sedative products like [[Bromo-Seltzer]], in 1975.<ref>{{cite book|author=Adams, Samuel Hopkins |title=The Great American fraud|url=https://archive.org/details/greatamericanfr03adamgoog|access-date=2011-06-25 |date=1905|publisher=Press of the American Medical Association}}</ref> Commercially available organobromine pharmaceuticals include the vasodilator [[nicergoline]], the sedative [[brotizolam]], the anticancer agent [[pipobroman]], and the antiseptic [[merbromin]]. Otherwise, organobromine compounds are rarely pharmaceutically useful, in contrast to the situation for [[organofluorine chemistry|organofluorine compounds]]. Several drugs are produced as the bromide (or equivalents, hydrobromide) salts, but in such cases bromide serves as an innocuous counterion of no biological significance.<ref name="KO" />

Other uses of organobromine compounds include high-density drilling fluids, dyes (such as [[Tyrian purple]] and the indicator [[bromothymol blue]]), and pharmaceuticals. Bromine itself, as well as some of its compounds, are used in water treatment, and is the precursor of a variety of inorganic compounds with an enormous number of applications (e.g. [[silver bromide]] for photography).<ref name="Greenwood798" /> [[Zinc–bromine battery|Zinc–bromine batteries]] are hybrid [[Flow battery|flow batteries]] used for stationary electrical power backup and storage; from household scale to industrial scale.

Bromine is used in cooling towers (in place of chlorine) for controlling bacteria, algae, fungi, and [[zebra mussel]]s.<ref>Buecker, Brad (1998-01-07) [https://www.power-eng.com/emissions/choose-the-right-cooling-tower-chemicals/#gref Choose the Right Cooling Tower Chemicals]. ''Power Engineering''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810000356/https://www.power-eng.com/emissions/choose-the-right-cooling-tower-chemicals/#gref|date=10 August 2021}} Choose the Right Cooling Tower Chemicals | Power Engineering |1998</ref>

Because it has similar antiseptic qualities to chlorine, bromine can be used in the same manner as chlorine as a disinfectant or antimicrobial in applications such as swimming pools. Bromine came into this use in the United States during [[World War II]] due to a predicted shortage of chlorine.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=VanderVelde |first1=T. L. |last2=Mallmann |first2=W. L. |last3=Moore |first3=A. V. |date=1948 |title=A Comparative Study Of Chlorine And Bromine For Swimming Pool Disinfection |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26324332 |journal=The Sanitarian |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=47–52 |jstor=26324332 |pmid=18891247 |issn=0096-560X}}</ref> However, bromine is usually not used outside for these applications due to it being relatively more expensive than chlorine and the absence of a stabilizer to protect it from the sun. For indoor pools, it can be a good option as it is effective at a wider pH range. It is also more stable in a heated pool or hot tub.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blanchard |first=Kristine |title=Pool Care For Dummies |date=2023 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-1-394-16611-4 |edition=1st |location=Indianapolis |pages=259–260}}</ref>