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Title: QUALITY IMPACT OF LOUVERS ON A 24-D LINT CLEANER

Author
item McAlister Iii, David
item Anthony, William
item EDWARDS, EARNEST - CONTINENTAL EAGLE

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/8/2002
Publication Date: 1/8/2002
Citation: MCALISTER III, D.D., ANTHONY, W.S., EDWARDS, E. QUALITY IMPACT OF LOUVERS ON A 24-D LINT CLEANER. NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL BELTWIDE COTTON CONFERENCE. 2002. 7 pages.

Interpretive Summary: In commercial cotton ginning, much of the waste generated at the lint cleaner consists of good useable cotton fiber. Commercial lint cleaner was modified to accommodate automatic louvers to reduce the number of grid bars utilized during lint cleaning. Both a hairy and smooth leaf variety were processed to determine the impact of reduced number of grid bars utilized on the amount of lint waste generated and on the ginned lint quality and textile mill processing and quality. Reducing the number of grid bars utilized in lint cleaning reduced lint waste. Fiber properties were negatively impacted and were influenced by variety. Opening and Cleaning waste at mill processing was also impacted negatively with the hairy leaf variety generating a higher level. Yarn quality and spinning efficiency was not impacted as a result of reducing the number of grid bars utilized at lint cleaning. Ginners and equipment manufacturers of gin process control equipment will use this work as an argument for offering louver controls on gin lint cleaners. This work shows that depending on variety, it is possible to reduce the amount of good lint lost at the lint cleaner while still delivering a product, which is acceptable to the mill user.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of this research was to establish the effectiveness of louvers installed on the 24D lint cleaner in terms of gin and mill performance. Previous research has shown that the use of available number of grid bars at a cotton gin results in improved value for the final product primarily by reducing the waste detected by the lint cleaner. 24-in. Wide, glass- sided, 24-C lint cleaner was modified to add automated louvers. Two varieties of cotton were selected for comparison with the modified lint cleaner. These varieties were Deltapine 50 and Stoneville 4691B. Grid bar combinations utilized for each test per variety ranged from one to seven. Analysis of variance indicated that variety had a significant impact on nearly all factors, with the exception of lint moisture content. Grid bars had a significant effect on lint waste, leaf grade, HVI trash, Shirley Analyzer waste; AFIS cotton dust count, AFIS trash count, AFIS visible foreign matter, and Opening and Cleaning waste. There was a significant effect of variety on Leaf grade, HVI Trash, SA waste, and Opening and Cleaning waste, making it necessary to consider these factors within each variety. With respect to opening and cleaning waste, the number of grid bars utilized significantly impacted the amount of waste generated. As for ring spun yarn quality and spinning efficiency, the number of grid bars utilized during ginning as the lint cleaner alone had no significant effect on either parameter.