Research Information System
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL, vol.15, no.21, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Silver, a critical element in various technological and industrial sectors, is increasingly being targeted for recovery from secondary sources due to the depletion of primary reserves and the environmental impacts of traditional mining. This study presents the development and application of a novel, environmentally friendly analytical method for the preconcentration and determination of silver in mining waste using deep eutectic solvents (DES) in combination with solidified floating organic drop microextraction (SFODME) and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Analytical performance was evaluated in terms of linearity (7.5-200 mu g/L, R-2 > 0.995), enhancement factor (27.9), limit of detection (2.1 mu g/L), and precision (RSD +/- 2.32%, n = 8). The method's validity was further validated through interference studies, analysis of certified reference materials (recovery rates: 80-93%), and application to real mining waste and tailings collected from gold-silver mining operations in Turkey's Aegean region. Results confirm the method's applicability for trace-level silver analysis in complex matrices, offering significant advantages in terms of sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and analytical reliability, aligned with the principles of green chemistry and resource recovery.