Similarly, increasing restrictions on discharge and deep welling could significantly reduce their potential for cost-effective waste handling. Catalytic oxidation of waste HBr offers a more environmentally friendly recycle alternative than oxidation with chlorine, since catalytic oxidation yields byproduct water (eqn. 5) rather than salt requiring disposal or deep welling. 4HBr + 0, —+2Br + 2,0 ©) This can lead to a 20-fold reduction in the effluent from the bromine recycle operation (ref. 4). An effective catalytic HBr oxidation process eluded researchers for almost 50 years (ref. 1). Although a wide range of catalysts were tested (refs. 1,2,9-16), they did not exhibit the combination of high activity and good stability required for a commercial process. Futhermore, the lack of effective heat management in previous work decreased the catalyst stability by causing severe local hot spots within the catalyst bed. These high temperatures caused promoter