REDUCTION OF TOTAL CHROMIUM IN INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT

WASTEWATER ENGINEERING

Chromium (Cr) is an environmentally significant metal used in various industrial processes Cr compounds enter natural waters mainly through the effluents from electroplating and tanning industries, from dyeing, from sanitary land fill leaching’s and from water-cooling towers. It can also enter the drinking water distribution system from the corrosion inhibitors used in water pipes. Cr is the most commonly used tanning agent. Nearly 90% of all leather produced is/tanned using Cr. The determination of trace of Cr in environmental samples is of great importance due to its toxicity. The two main oxidation states of Cr, Cr (III) and Cr (VI), present in natural waters, significantly differ in biological, geochemical and toxicological properties. Whereas Cr (III), over a narrow concentration range, is considered essential for mammals for the maintenance of glucose, lipid and protein metabolism and Cr (VI) is reported to have a toxic effect on humans. Cr (VI) is recognized as a serious health hazard for workers in Crplating plants and is a source of various cancer diseases. In view of the above, the determination of Cr at trace levels has received considerable attention. Sample pretreatment techniques which include analytic element separation and pre-concentration introduce additional laborious and time-consuming sample manipulation steps with contamination risk. Therefore, direct methods of determination of total element are preferable, if they are sufficiently sensitive.

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