A rapid determination of silicon in plant material

Silicates in dried plant material can be extracted quantitatively by a mixture of diluted hydrogen fluoride and hydrochloric acid. The silicon in the extract can be determined by either atomic absorption or atomic emission spectrometry. Three methods were compared: (a) the classical method, i.e. dry‐ashing, followed by fusion with sodium carbonate; (b) wet digestion by a mixture of HF and HNO3 in a closed system (“bomb” technique); (c) the proposed extraction at room temperature.