Spectrophotometric Determination of Water-Soluble Hexavalent Chromium and Determination of Total Hexavalent Chromium Content of Portland Cement in the Presence of Iron (III) and Titanium (IV) Using Derivative Ratio Spectrophotometry

A rapid, reliable and accurate method for the determination of hexavalent chromium in Portland cement is developed. The proposed method includes direct spectrophotometric determination of Cr (VI) in Portland cement with 1, 2, 5, 8 Tetrahydroxyanthraquinone, (Quinalizarin, QINZ) at pH 1.5. The European Directive (2003/53/EC) limits the use of cements so that it contains no more than 2 mg·Kg of water-soluble Cr (VI). The absorbance at 565 nm due to Cr (VI)-QINZ complex is recommended for the determination of water-soluble Cr (VI) in Portland cement. The quantification of Cr (VI) released from cement when mixed with water is performed according to TRGS 613 (Technical Rules of Hazardous Substances). The validity of the method is thoroughly examined and the proposed method gives satisfactory results. A derivative spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of total Cr (VI) in Portland cement in the presence of Fe (III) and Ti (IV). The hexavalent chromium complex formed at pH 1.5 allows precise and accurate determination of chromium (VI) over the concentration range 0.05 to 3.0 mg·L of chromium (VI). The validity of the method was examined by analyzing several Standard Reference Material (SRM) Portland cement samples. The MDL (at 95% confidence level) was found to be 25 ng/mL for chromium (VI) in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cement samples using the proposed method.