Separation and speciation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) with Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized on sepiolite and determination of both species in water by FAAS

A rapid, sensitive and accurate method for the separation, preconcentration and determination of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in water samples is described. Chromium species can be separated by biosorption on Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized on sepiolite and determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The optimum conditions for separation and preconcentration (pH, bed height, flow rate and volume of sample solution) were evaluated. Recovery of the chromium was 96.3+/-0.2% at 95% confidence level. The breakthrough capacity of the adsorbent was found as 228 mumol g(-1) for Cr(III). The proposed method was applied successfully to the determination of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in spiked and river water samples.