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Submitted to: Transactions of the ASAE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 7/7/2000 Publication Date: 6/15/2000 Citation: HOLT, G.A., BARKER, G.L., BAKER, R.V., BRASHEARS, A.D. CHARACTERIZATION OF COTTON GIN BYPRODUCTS PRODUCED BY VARIOUS MACHINERY GROUPS USED IN THE GINNING OPERATION. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASAE. 2000. V. 43(6). P. 1393-1400. Interpretive Summary: Utilization of waste produced from cotton gins has been a topic of research for a number of years. Some of the research has yielded applications that show great promise. However, limited or regional use of these applications is all that has been realized thus far. One obstacle to utilization is terminology. Very few end users want to use "trash", but byproducts are altogether different. The term cotton gin byproducts (CGB) is more descriptive of the product being produced since it is not "trash" but a product that does not currently have a high demand market. Typically, all research pertaining to utilization of CGB has evaluated or measured some aspect of the product to determine a desired or needed characteristic per- taining to a specific objective or goal. Cotton gins produce various streams of byproducts due to the design and layout of the equipment used in the cotton ginning process. Historically, the byproducts from the various streams are combined into a single waste stream and conveyed to a central location. The objective of this research was to characterize the various parameters of the byproducts coming from the individual waste streams prior to being combined to ascertain if the ginning equipment was sorting the byproducts into components that had more desirable characteristics to potential end users. In addition to various parameters, chemical residues were also evaluated to determine if the ginning process produces byproducts with more or less residue based on the equipment used. Even though the chemical residues were not significant based on the ginning equipment, the ginning equipment did produce a more desirable byproduct from the extrac- tors, lower gin motes, gin stand feeder, overflow separator, and lint cleaners than was produced from the unloading system and inclined cleaners. Technical Abstract: Byproducts produced from cotton gins have commonly been referred to as trash since they were deemed to have little value. However, in some areas of the cotton belt, the byproducts have been utilized successfully. Cotton gin byproducts (CGB) have been fed to livestock, used to make compost, bedding for dairy cattle, or applied back on the land to add humus to the soil. Over the years, extensive research has been performed in evaluating and creating uses for CGB. Almost without exception, all research pertain- ing to utilization of CGB has evaluated or measured some aspect of the product to determine a desired or needed characteristic pertaining to a specific research objective or goal. Currently, cotton gins produce various streams of byproducts due to the design and layout of the equipment used in the ginning process. In most every case, the byproducts are combined into a single waste stream and sent to a central location. The objective of this research was to characterize the various parameters of the individual waste streams prior to their being combined, to ascertain if the ginning equipment was sorting the byproducts into components that had more desirable characteristics to potential end users. Our results showed that the extractors, lower gin motes, gin stand feeder, overflow separator and lint cleaners produced a product with more desirable characteristics for livestock feeding and fuel utilization than those byproducts from the inclined cleaners and unloading system. |
