Abstract
Water is known as an important source of life but as a result of the increase in industrialization, drinking water has become scarce and this has resulted in people depending on groundwater for various uses. Due to this increase in industrialization, there has been a rise in the amount of water contaminated by heavy metals. For example chromium(Cr) is one of these heavy metals. Chromium exists in various oxidation states that range from -2 to +6. Apart from the rarelyfound, elemental Cr with an oxidation state of zero, the most stable and known forms that occur naturally in the environment are Cr(III) and Cr(VI) oxidation states. Cr(III) and Cr(VI), have very different mobilities in the environment because of the difference in their solubility. Cr(III) is immobile because it is a cation that is easily sorbed onto negatively charged soil particles whereas Cr(VI) is an oxyanion that is mobile because it is poorly sorbed by negatively charged soil surfaces and can be freely transferred in aqueous environments. Concerns related to Cr(III) are less strict because of its lower toxicity rating, while Cr(VI) is known to be very toxic and carcinogenic. The effects associated with Cr(VI) contamination are very harmful to both human health and the environment. ..
M.Sc. (Chemistry)