The implication of this is that the samples retted with Na2SO3 were slightly affected while those retted with NaOH were affected most. It was observed that the samples retted with Na2SO3 and its corresponding bleached fibre had relatively high tensile strength and low viscosity values while those retted with NaOH and its corresponding bleached samples gave lower tensile strength and high viscosity values.

The effects of these treatments were further evaluated using a tensile strength machine and a viscometer. The kenaf bast was converted into clean, lustrous, smooth and soft fibres using the retting, bleaching and mercerization processes. Mercerization process was carried out on the bleached fibres in order to improve the quality of the fibres. The extracted fibres were subjected to bleaching with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The bast of the kenaf plant was retted with 5 % sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and 5 % sodium sulphite (Na2SO3) at 100 oC for 10 mins. Umoru, Patricia Ese., Boryo, Doris E.A., Aliyu, A.O, Adeyemi, O.OДЄBSTRACT: The processing and evaluation of chemically retted kenaf bast (Hibiscus cannabinus) was carried out using sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphite. Processing And Evaluation Of Chemically Treated Kenaf Bast (Hibiscus Cannabinus)

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