Author
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Brushwood, Donald |
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Submitted to: Textile Research Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 2/21/2003 Publication Date: 10/1/2003 Citation: BRUSHWOOD, D.E. NONCELLULOSIC CONSTITUENTS ON RAW COTTON AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO FIBER PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. TEXTILE RES. J. 73(10), pp. 912-916 2003. Interpretive Summary: A series of single season raw cottons for five different domestic growing areas with nine different varieties were evaluated for reducing sugar, wax, alcohol extractables, ash and light metal content to determine the impact of normal noncellulosic constituents on cotton on fiber physical properties. Good correlations were found between reducing sugars and fiber ash content, alcohol extractables, potassium and magnesium content. Higher levels of alcohol extractables were indicative of increased quantitites of ash residue and the metal potassium found in the fibers. When correlated with standard fiber physical property measurements, there were very positive correlations found between the amount of solvent extractable noncellulosic materials, the metals potassium and magnesium, and ash residues from burning and fiber strength measurements. As noncellulosic extracts increased, fiber strength also tended to increase. Residual fiber wax content was found to be highly related to micronaire. As micronaire increased, wax content decreased. Higher levels of potassium and magnesium in the fiber that appear to enhance strength and reduce short fibers. Increased levels of potassium and magnesium are also related to increases in Rd and +b color measurements as well as RotorRing friction. The presence of the metal calcium, however, has the opposite effect. As calcium levels increase, fiber strength tend to decrease and short fiber content increases. The level of calicum seems to have little effect on fiber color. All of these relationships in this report have been derived from a very limited series of cottons. Future studies with a wider range of cottons should further clarify the effects of noncellulosic materials on fiber properties. It is, however, clear that noncellulosic materials on raw cottons, especially wax and metal, do play significant roles in predicting cotton fiber processing performance quality. Technical Abstract: Raw cottons contain a number of noncellulosic materials that are generally considered surface related. Therefore, they may affect fiber quality. Chemical tests were conducted on cottons originating from different U. S. growing locations to determine reducing sugars, wax, metal contents, and total alcohol extractables materials. Relationships between concentrations of these constituents and conventional fiber physical property measurements were investigated. Increases in HVI and Stelometer fiber strength and RotorRing fiber-to-fiber friction and decreases in Suter-Webb short fiber content were found to be highly related to increases in alcohol extractable materials, fiber ash residues, and total light metal content. Conversely, increases in the metal calcium correlated with decreases in both fiber strength and fiber-to-fiber friction, and increases in short fiber content. Increses in HVI Rd and +b color measurements correlated positively with increasing levels of the metals potassium and magnesium. |
