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RET
(ret)
To
moisten or soak (flax, for example) in order to promote loosening
of the fibers from the woody tissue
Common
clues: Soak
flax; Soak hemp, e.g.; Soak timber; Prepare flax
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
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Frequency
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Video:
Flax
retting at the Hermitage
Retting
is a stage in the manufacturing of vegetable fibers, especially
the bast fibers. It is a process that employs water and microbial
action to separate the bast fibers from the woody core (the
xylem), and sometimes from the epidermis as well.
In
"water retting", plant stems such as flax, jute, hemp
or kenaf are submerged in water, and soaked for a period of time
to loosen the fibers from the other components of the stem.
Retting can also be done by letting the cut crop stand in the
fields in the wet Fall, called "dew retting". In either
approach, bacterial action attacks pectin and lignin, freeing the
cellulose fibres. The stems must be monitored during retting to
avoid excessive degradation of the fibres, making it a very
labor-intensive process.
Once
retting is complete, the stems are then removed and washed, where
they are typically subjected to mechanical processing to remove
the soft tissue and then dried so that all that remains are the
fibres.
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Retting".
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