Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Structure and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313233
Title: Fourier transform infrared imaging of Cotton trash mixtures

Author
item Fortier, Chanel
item Santiago Cintron, Michael
item Rodgers Iii, James

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/21/2015
Publication Date: 4/15/2015
Citation: Fortier, C.A., Santiago Cintron, M., Rodgers III, J.E. 2015. Fourier transform infrared imaging of Cotton trash mixtures. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. p. 80-84.

Interpretive Summary: Contamination of cotton fiber is a very important topic of interest in the textile industry. Current technology to characterize cotton trash has lead to inconsistencies among “classer calls” or simply do not define the specific types of the trash comingled with the cotton lint. A relatively new analytical technique, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) imaging, has the capability of uniquely identifying materials analyzed based on their chemical makeup and spatial position. FT-IR imaging was employed in this study to provide a “proof of concept” as to the utility of this technique to identify botanical and field trash. Along with the previously mentioned advantages of this technique FT-IR imaging is accurate, precise, and can have a short analysis time. FT-IR imaging of the cotton mixtures composed of botanical trash types (hull versus leaf) or botanical and field trash types (leaf versus a plastic grocery bag) were analyzed and the trash types were specifically identified based on their chemical origin.

Technical Abstract: There is much interest in the identification of trash types comingled with cotton lint. A good understanding of the specific trash types present can lead to the fabrication of new equipment which can identify and sort cotton trash found with cotton fiber. Conventional methods, including the High Volume Instrument (HVI) and the Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS), do not yield specific data on the origin of the cotton trash. Formerly, spectroscopic analysis of cotton trash has been successfully applied to identify pure trash types. It is the goal of this study to determine the feasibility of using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) imaging to identify botanical and field trash types.