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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #229519
Title: Attachment Mechanisms Between Cotton Fibers and Foreign-matter Particles

Author
item THOMASSON, J. ALEX - TEXAS A & M
item SUI, RUIXIU - TEXAS A & M
item Byler, Richard
item BARNES, EDWARD - COTTON INC.

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/2/2008
Publication Date: 7/7/2008
Citation: Thomasson, J., Sui, R., Byler, R.K., Barnes, E.M. 2008. Attachment Mechanisms Between Cotton Fibers and Foreign-matter Particles. In proceedings of National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. Nashville, TN. CD ROM p. 632-637.

Interpretive Summary: Cotton lint is cleaned mechanically after removal from the seed to reduce the resulting amount of non-lint material in the cotton bale. An effort is underway to improve the lint cleaners by both reducing the damage done to the fiber while it is being cleaned and improve the amount of non-lint removed and the amount of lint retained by the cleaners. A better understanding of the nature of cotton lint, foreign matter, and their physical and chemical interactions before and during the cleaning process will promote the development of better lint cleaning equipment and processes. The goal of this work was to develop a fundamental understanding of how foreign-matter particles were attached to cotton fiber so that new cleaning methods might be devised. Specific objectives involved using an imaging microscope to categorize (1) foreign matter particles in lint according to color, shape, texture, and size; and (2) relationships between foreign-matter particles surrounding fibers according to cotton type and particle category. This manuscript describes a method of categorizing particles. Several images are included with a discussion of future work. This work will lead to a better understanding of the lint cleaning problem which will result in better lint cleaning machinery and thus cotton produced in the US will be more competitive on the world market.

Technical Abstract: In order to develop a fundamental understanding of the requirements for removing foreign matter from bulk cotton fiber, a video microscope was used to collect images of foreign-matter particles in lint from smooth-leaf and hairy-leaf cottons. A method is given for categorizing the particles according to color, shape, size, and texture, and then relating those characteristics to the type of attachment between the particle and the surrounding fiber. Images of several particles are included, and subsequent research discussed.