Abstract
A preliminary experiment has shown that lower values for the volatile base have often been obtained according to the official aeration procedre. This paper deals with a study of factors governing the rate of removal of volatile base by the aeration.
Only a little increase in the rate of removal of the base has been made by completely dipping the aeration tube into water bath and changing the dimensions of the aeration tube and drop catcher. It has been observed that this rate decreases with lowering in the freshness of the sample. A considerable increase in this rate, however, has been made by increasing the amount of potassium carbonate which is to be added prior to the aeration. The rise in temperature also remarkably reduced length of time needed for the complete determination. It is of interest that by raising temperature for the aeration, mackerel flesh gave an excess amount of base while whale meat did not give any excess amount even at 80°C. The substance which gives rise to this excess base is now under study.
