Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #220596
Title: CONVENTIONAL AND HIGH-SPEED ROLLER GINNING OF UPLAND COTTON IN COMMERCIAL GINS

Author
item Armijo, Carlos
item GILLUM, MARVIS - RETIRED USDA-ARS-SWCGRL

Submitted to: Applied Engineering in Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/14/2009
Publication Date: 3/30/2010
Citation: Armijo, C.B., Gillum, M.N. 2010. Conventional and high-speed roller ginning of upland cotton in commercial gins. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 26(1):5-10.

Interpretive Summary: Roller ginning compared to saw ginning produces fiber of better quality, but roller ginning is a slow and expensive process and consequently used to gin only Pima cotton. If roller ginning could be made more cost effective, upland cottons could be roller ginned to produce better-quality fiber. A conventional rotary-knife roller gin stand in a commercial ginning plant was converted to operate at high speed during the 2005 ginning season. Ginning rate on the high-speed stand was more three times higher than a conventional roller gin stand. The ginning roller on the high-speed stand operated at normal temperature. A field test was conducted at the commercial ginning plant to compare roller ginning and saw ginning using one cultivar of upland cotton. The field test included the high-speed roller gin stand along with 11 conventional roller gin stands, and two saw gin stands. The field test showed that the grade, length, and value of fiber from the roller gin stands were better than fiber from the saw gin stands. Results from the 2006 California crop showed similar improvements in fiber length when comparing roller-ginned upland cotton and saw-ginned upland cotton. The 2006 California crop included numerous high-speed roller gin stands. Textile mills that value the significance of improved fiber properties were willing to pay a premium for roller-ginned upland cotton. High-speed roller ginning may allow more upland cottons to be roller ginned.

Technical Abstract: A conventional rotary-knife roller gin stand in a commercial ginning plant was converted to operate at high speed during the 2005 ginning season. Ginning rate on the high-speed stand was more three times higher than a conventional roller gin stand. The ginning roller on the high-speed stand operated at normal temperature. A field test was conducted at the commercial ginning plant to compare roller ginning and saw ginning using one cultivar of upland cotton. The field test included the high-speed roller gin stand along with 11 conventional roller gin stands, and two saw gin stands. Fiber properties from the field test showed that HVI color grade, staple length, length uniformity, and fiber value were improved when using roller gin stands. Results from the 2006 California crop showed similar improvements in staple length and length uniformity when comparing roller-ginned upland cotton and saw-ginned upland cotton. Textile mills that value the significance of improved fiber properties were willing to pay a premium of 13 to 26 cents/kg (6 to 12 cents/lb) for roller-ginned upland cotton. Fourteen full-conversion and 52 partial-conversion high-speed roller gin stands were used in California in 2006. Life of the ginning roller on high-speed roller gin stands during 2006 was slightly less than conventional roller gin stands, but more data is needed to confirm this. Evaluation of high-speed roller ginning in commercial ginning plants will continue.