Adejimi A.A
Tshwane University of Technology
South Africa
Title: SPECIATION OF CHROMIUM AND VANADIUM IN MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE VICINITY OF FERROCHROME AND VANADIUM SMELTERS
Biography
Biography: Adejimi A.A
Abstract
There exist abundant evidence globally that anthropogenic activities have polluted the environment with heavy metals such V(V), which eventually find their way into the human food-chain with the subsequent adverse effects. In this study, the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was used in the determination of V(V) and total V in medicinal plants collected from the farm in the vicinity of the vanadium smelter but unable to sampling the medicinal plants near ferrochrome smelter. The determination of V(V) in medicinal plants by (GFAAS) was applied based on their leaching with 0.1 M Na2CO3. The solution was filtered through a PDVF 0.45 mL hydrophilic filter prior analysis by GFAAS. The results suggest that the pyrolysis temperatures of 1300ï‚°C - 1500ï‚°C are effective to eliminate the majority of the matrix prior to atomization and any residual amounts of Na2CO3 had no influence on the release of V during atomization.