Ribbed Smoked Sheets (RSS) are generally made from fresh latex and graded by visual grading as per the “Green book” specifications. As sheets in India are mostly made in the small growers sector the uniformity in quality of sheets is a concern. Good grading can be achieved by adopting recommended processing practices through group processing centres (GPCs). To ensure a regular supply of latex to the GPCs it is necessary to store latex and prepare sheets from preserved field latex (PFL). Present study is an attempt to develop a method to prepare sheets from stored latex without compromising the quality. Both low ammonia latex and high ammonia latex were pre-treated before adding the preservative and stored for various periods. The lattices were coagulated at regular intervals and the raw rubber properties were measured. The study revealed that the PRI values can be retained as a satisfactory level by pretreating the latex before adding preservatives. This method can be used for making sheets from stored latex without adversely affecting the rubber properties.
Natural rubber latex, Plasticity retention index, Ribbed smoked sheets, Stored latex
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