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Title: NIR REFLECTANCE ASSESSMENT OF THE DEGREE OF RETTING OF FLAX STEMS

Author
item Archibald, Douglas
item BARTON II, FRANKLIN
item AKIN, DANNY

Submitted to: Near Infrared Spectroscopy International Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/14/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Fiber for linen yarn is derived from stems of the flax plant. Rapid, simple, and repeatable methods are needed to monitor microbial or enzymatic retting, which is the process of releasing fibers from non-fibrous tissues in the stem. NIR reflectance spectroscopy of intact stems over the range 1400 - 2500 nm adequately predicted the degree of laboratory-scale enzymatic retting in the presence of interference due to specimen moisture content and the stem packing orientation. Fried's test visual scores for the degree of retting were not as repeatable as NIR models developed using smoothed Fried's test scores as the reference. Multivariate regression analysis of many possible spectral windows identified five that could effectively monitor enzymatic retting, each with fewer than three regression factors (1430 - 1560, 1700 -1820, 1980 - 2090, 2200 - 2250, and 2350 - 2490 nm). The models are reasonable from a spectro-chemical perspective, and are able classify under- and over-retted samples with an accuracy of better than 90 % even though the retting endpoint is not distinct.