Proposition of a simple method for chromium (VI) determination in soils from remote places applying digital images: A case study from Brazilian Antarctic Station

In this study, we proposed a straightforward approach that could be used for Cr redox speciation in soil samples from remote places. For this aim, soil samples under strong anthropogenic impact, from the vicinity of the Brazilian Antarctic Station were studied. Control samples with no direct impact, were also collected further (4 km) from the station. A preliminary laboratory evaluation for Cr (VI) presence was performed using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The proposed method was based on a hot alkaline extraction to promote the quantitative extraction of Cr (VI) from soil samples. The colorimetric reagent 1,5-diphenylcarbazide (DPC) was added to the extracts to form a violet complex with Cr (VI). A simple and inexpensive commercial scanner was used to acquire the digital images of the formed complex. Partial Least Squares models were constructed with the following average color descriptors: red (R), green (G), blue (B), hue (H), saturation (S), value (V), relative color descriptors Cr, g and b) and luminosity (L). The results obtained with this scanner approach were consistent with the official method that uses a spectrophotometer at 540 nm. Besides that, this is the first study that reports Cr redox speciation in soils from Antarctica, which is regarded as the less polluted place on the Earth. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.