High-speed roller ginning in commercial gin plants in 2005 and 2006

Authors: Armijo, Carlos

Submitted to: World Cotton Research Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/13/2007
Publication Date: 7/18/2008
Citation: Armijo, C.B. 2008. High-speed roller ginning in commercial gin plants in 2005 and 2006. In: Proceedings of the World Cotton Research Conference, September 9-15, 2007, Lubbock, Texas. 2007 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary: Conventional roller ginning compared to saw ginning produces fiber of better quality, but roller ginning is a slow and expensive process and is only used to gin the higher-quality Pima cotton. High-speed roller ginning allows upland cotton to be ginned at a rate nearly equal to saw ginning (lower ginning cost), and produces upland fiber that has better fiber properties than saw-ginned upland cotton. Numerous conventional roller gin stands were modified in 2005 and 2006 to run at high speed in commercial ginning plants in Arizona, California, and New Mexico. The high-speed stands ginned both Pima and upland cotton. Fiber properties from a 2005 field test in a commercial roller ginning plant and from the 2006 California crop verified the benefits of roller ginning upland cotton. Export markets, which now use about 75% of U.S. upland cotton, value the significance of better fiber properties, and some textile mills are paying and extra 13 to 26 ¢/kg (6 to 12 ¢/lb) for high-quality roller ginned upland cotton. In addition, roller ginning may help some medium-quality upland cottons to meet international fiber quality standards.

Technical Abstract: Numerous conventional roller gin stands were modified to run at high speed in commercial ginning plants in 2005 and 2006. The high-speed stands ginned both Pima and upland cotton. Results from a field test at a commercial ginning plant that compared roller ginning (including one high-speed stand) and saw ginning using one upland cultivar showed that HVI color grade, staple length, uniformity, and fiber value were improved when using the roller gin stands. Results from the 2006 California crop showed similar improvements in staple length and uniformity when comparing roller-ginned upland cotton (which included conventional and high-speed stands) and saw-ginned upland cotton. Textile mills that value the significance of improved fiber properties were willing to pay a premium for roller-ginned upland cotton. Evaluation of high-speed roller ginning in commercial ginning plants will continue in 2007.