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Title: CHANGES IN COTTON FIBER NONCELLULOSIC CONTENT DURING THE YARN PRODUCTION PROCESS.

Author
item Brushwood, Donald

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/17/2003
Publication Date: 6/1/2004
Citation: Brushwood, D.E. Changes in cotton fiber noncellulosic content during the yarn production process. Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conference, National Cotton Council, Memphis, TN. 2004. p. 3062-3066.

Interpretive Summary: ANALYTICAL STUDIES DETERMINING THE NONCELLULOSIC CONTENT OF COTTON FIBERS WERE CONDUCTED ON TWO DIFFERENT VARIETIES GROWN COMMON TO THREE DIFFERENT DOMESTIC LOCATIONS IN THE 2002 HARVESTING SEASON. EACH COTTON WAS SPUN INTO RING, OPEN-END, AND VORTEX YARNS. SAMPLES SELECTED AT VARYING PROCESS STAGES TO BE ANALYZED FOR ANY POSSIBLE CHANGES IN THE GENERAL OR SPECIFIC CONTENT OF CERTAIN NATURALLY OCCURRING NON-CELLULOSIC MATERIALS DURING PROCESSING. THE FIBER WAX CONCENTRATIONS, WHICH WERE MICRONAIRE RELATED, AND PLANT SUGAR LEVELS DID NOT CHANGE IN PROCESSING. CONCENTRATIONS OF THE FOUR MOST PREDOMINANT LIGHT METALS ON THE FIBER, POTASSIUM, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, AND SODIUM WERE REDUCED ONLY IN THE OPENING AND CARDING PROCESSES IN YARN PRODUCTION. TOTAL FIBER ALCOHOL EXTRACTABLES OF NON-FIBROUS MATERIALS WERE REDUCED IN THE OPENING AND CARDING AND YARN SPINNING STAGES OF PROCESSING. WHERE CHANGES OCCURRED, THERE WERE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS FOUND BETWEEN THE MICRONAIRE AND THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE. AS MICRONAIRE INCREASED, A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF MATERIAL WAS REMOVED.

Technical Abstract: VARIETIES COMMON TO THREE DIFFERENT DOMESTIC GROWING AREAS AND A SINGLE HARVESTING SEASON WERE SPUN INTO YARNS ON RING, OPEN-END, AND VORTEX SYSTEMS. SAMPLES WERE SELECTED AT VARIOUS STAGES OF PROCESSING TO DETERMINE ANY POSSIBLE ALTERATIONS IN THE GENERAL OR SPECIFIC NON-CELLULOSIC CONTENT, WHERE THESE CHANGES OCCUR, THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE, AND WHAT IF ANY EFFECT MAY BE SEEN ON THE FINISHED YARN QUALITY. VARIATIONS IN FIBER MICRONAIRE, WHICH WERE HIGHLY RELATED TO GROWING LOCATION, INFLUENCED INITIAL CONCENTRATIONS OF TOTAL ALCOHOL SURFACE NON-FIBROUS AND WAX EXTRACTABLES. IN PROCESSING, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE SEEN IN THE PLANT SUGAR OR SURFACE WAX CONTENT. ALCOHOL EXTRACTABLES DECREASED IN THE FIBER OPENING AND CARDING AND YARN SPINNING PROCESSES. CONCENTRATIONS OF THE FIBER RESIDUAL LIGHT METALS POTASSIUM, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, AND SODIUM WERE REDUCED IN THE FIBER PRIMARILY IN THE OPENING AND CARDING PROCESSES. THE MAGNITUDE OF REDUCTION IN ALCOHOL SURFACE EXTRACTABLES AND LIGHT METAL WAS FOUND TO BE HIGHLY RELATED TO FIBER MICRONAIRE.