Carrageenan each plant weighs approximately 1 kg. The "E. cottonii" variety has been reclassified as "Kappaphycus cottonii" by Maxwell Doty (1988), thereby introducing the genus "Kappaphycus", on the basis of the phycocolloids produced (namely kappa carrageenan). After harvest, the seaweed is dried, baled, and sent to the carrageenan manufacturer. There the seaweed is ground, sifted to remove impurities such as sand, and washed thoroughly. After treatment with hot alkali solution (e.g., 5–8% potassium hydroxide), the cellulose is removed from the carrageenan by centrifugation and filtration. The resulting carrageenan solution is then concentrated by evaporation. It is dried and ground to specification.
Simultaneously extracted metals and Acid-volatile sulfide initially unbound to AVS (due to insufficient AVS in the sediment to "mop up" all the metal ions). The concentrations of metals in the acid solution can be measured by a number of analytical chemistry methods, including atomic emission spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), or mass spectrometry. These are known as "simultaneously extracted metals" because they are the metals liberated from the sediment "while the volatilization of sulfide is occurring". Metals extracted from sediment by digestion, or with a different acid than HCl are "not" simultaneously extracted metals. By correcting appropriately for dilution, the SEM concentration in the sediment can