The introduction of non-native species and organisms into the environment by ballast water release is a serious problem, and until recently it has been given a low national priority.
As a consequence, ballast water treatment technologies are for the most part in their early stages of development. Of critical importance to the success of any technology platform to treat ballast water relies on analytical methods to monitor water quality, diagnostics to determine the effectiveness of treatment procedures, and eventually, an on-line sensors for shipboard monitoring of commercialized systems. Since bromate is the primary inorganic ozonation by-product in water containing bromide (i.e., sea water), we are working on the development of a novel optrode sensor material that is highly selective for bromate.