ABSTRACT
Chromium (Cr) was discovered in Russia in 1765 by P.S.Pallas, but the element was not isolated until 1797 by the French chemist L.N.Vauquelin. By 1820, chromium had found industrial application in the form of potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7), which was used as a pigment in textile manufacture. By the mid-1800s, leather tanning with chromic acid had become a common practice. The ability of products manufactured from chromium to resist high temperatures was also exploited early on and by 1879 chromite ore was routinely used in the manufacture of high-temperature refractory furnaces. As the industrial revolution progressed into the 21st century, the use of chromium for metal finishing, manufacturing, and alloy production became commonplace. Following World War I, chrome metal became an important raw material in the manufacture of metal alloys and also found extensive application in growing markets for automobiles and household appliances (Burrows and Adams, 1990).
