Btich as tiny shells and lime particles, salt, and sand from the seaweed. 



b. The so-called hard weeds are soaked for periods to 25 

 hours; the soft varieties from 12 to 15 houxa. The water used in the 

 soaking tanks must be soft and should never be over 10° C as the seaweed 

 will spoil at this point in the process at a hi^er temperature. 



c. When the soaking is completed the material is washed 

 Tintil as much as possible of the foreign matter is removed. Fonaerly, 

 the washing %ms done by primitive methods such as placing the seaweed in 

 pits and pounding it with mallets attached to long poles. This was done 

 by hand. Irentually, the mallets were suspended from an overhead 

 eccentric shaft, and the process was mechanized (Figure 5). 



d. The use of 

 washing machines is a more 

 recent innovation. The tubs 

 are open on the bottom and 

 rotate on a perforated disc 

 in an eccentric circle. At 

 the same time the plunger, 

 which is slightly smaller in 

 diameter than the washing 

 tub, presses the seaweed; a 

 stream of water is run 

 through the machine froc a 

 half- inch hose. The seaweed 

 remains in the washing ma- 

 chine on an average of one- 

 half hour. The length of 

 time depends on the amotint 

 of lime and shell particles 

 or sand adhering to the sea- 

 Although \,he washing machine has been satisfactory for soft weeds 

 e 4) hard varieties are still subjected to mechanical potinding to 

 them in order to 'aid in the extraction of the agar-agar. 



fl^e 3. 



weed. 



(rigor 



soften 



Soaking and bleaching tanks 

 and mechanical pounders for 

 hard varieties seaweed. 



e. After being washed the material is placed in clean 

 cement tanks to drain until a batch of about 225 kilograms has been 

 aecnnulated. As each batch is bro light to the boiling sheds for the next 

 step in the process (Figaro 5) , it is given another soaking for about 

 tvo hours. This aids in the bleaching and keeps the weeds soft and plia- 

 ble. 



2. Boiling 



a. This is the most important emd critical step in the 

 manufacture of agar-agar. The correct blending of different species of 

 seaweed in proper proportions and temperature control are of vit»l 



