Determining residual gum content of bast fibre

An investigation was carried out to examine if ultrasonic pretreatment leads to a more accurate result for the measurement of residual gum content of bast fiber. Part one of the experiment was the determination of the best liquor for ultrasonic treatment, part two was to determine best ultrasonic treatment time, and part three was the determination of the optimum ultrasonic treatment liquor chemical concentrations. By preparing four different liquors, the best ultrasonic bath liquor was determined, and the clean samples were then over dried at 105°C for 20 minutes. The level of gum removal is improved by the use of chemicals in the ultrasonic treatment, hence the degree of separation. It was observed that ultrasonic treatment of the fiber before conducting the conventional residual gum content results in a more effective removal of gums in the fiber, and pre-treatment with ultrasonic retting for 40 minutes is the optimum time to attain the best residual gum content results.