Fines removal, definition

Assay Preparation Transfer about 4 g of sample, accurately weighed, into a 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask, and add 80 mL of 0.5 N potassium hydroxide and 0.5 mL of phenolphtha-lein TS. Connect an air condenser at least 65 cm long to the flask, and heat the mixture on a hot plate for about 2.5 h. Remove the air condenser and add approximately 10% phosphoric acid to the hot mixture until it is definitely acid to Congo red test paper. Reconnect the air condenser, and heat until the fatty acids are liquified and clear. Cool, and transfer the mixture into a 250-mL separator with the aid of small portions of water and hexane. Extract the liberated fatty acids with three successive 25-mL portions of hexane, and collect the extracts in a second separator. Wash the combined hexane extracts with two 25-mL portions of water, and add the washings to the separator containing the water layer. Retain the combined hexane extracts for the determination of total fatty acids. Transfer the contents of the first separator to a 250-mL beaker, heat on a steam bath to remove traces of hexane, filter through acid-washed, fine-texture filter paper into a 500-mL volumetric flask, and finally dilute to volume with water (Solution I). Pipet 25.0 mL of this solution into a 100-mL volumetric flask, and dilute to volume with water (Solution II). Retain the rest of Solution I for the determination of Glycerin (below). 

The terms fining and refining refer to the removal of gaseous inclusions, or bubbles, from the melt. Although the presence of bubbles in a glass sample is not necessarily detrimental for many scientific studies, bubbles are definitely undesirable in most commercial glasses. Bubbles in commercial products are almost always considered flaws and result in rejection of the product. These gas-filled inclusions may occur as very small spheres (< 0.4 mm diameter), which are frequently called seed... 

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