Eco-Friendly Leaching of Metallic Silver With Boric Acid: Kinetics Study

Abstract

This article discusses the kinetics of using a hydrogen peroxide solution to dissolve pure metallic silver in boric acid. The impact of temperature, rotation speed, hydrogen peroxide (H<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf>) concentration, and boric acid concentration were investigated. The results indicate that silver dissolution rate and rotation speed have a positive relationship. Additionally, boric acid concentrations ranging from 0.10 to 0.40 M significantly enhance the dissolution process. The hydrogen peroxide concentration has no discernible influence on the rate of dissolution. While temperatures between 20 and 40 °C are beneficial, temperatures above 40 °C had the opposite effect and caused a layer of boron oxide (B<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf>) to form. The activation energy was determined to be 30.49 kJ/mol. © 2025 Chemical Society of Ethiopia and The Authors.