Halomethane the interaction of chlorine sources with various carbon compounds. The biosyntheses of these halomethanes are catalyzed by the chloroperoxidase and bromoperoxidase enzymes, respectively. An idealized equation is: Halons are usually defined as hydrocarbons where the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by bromine, along with other halogens. They are referred to by a system of code numbers similar to (but simpler than) the system used for freons. The first digit specifies the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, the second is the number of fluorine atoms, the third is the chlorine atoms, and the fourth is the number of bromine
Bromine analogous to table salt. While it is rather rare in the Earth's crust, the high solubility of the bromide ion (Br) has caused its accumulation in the oceans. Commercially the element is easily extracted from brine pools, mostly in the United States, Israel and China. The mass of bromine in the oceans is about one three-hundredth that of chlorine. At high temperatures, organobromine compounds readily dissociate to yield free bromine atoms, a process that stops free radical chemical chain reactions. This effect makes organobromine compounds useful as fire retardants, and more than half the bromine produced worldwide each year is