Effect of Cotton Fiber Cohesion on Energy Use and Fiber Quality During Processing: 2nd Year

Authors: Hardin Iv, Robert; Delhom, Christopher; Bechere, Efrem

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/20/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Energy is a significant expense for cotton gins, and consumers of cotton goods are increasingly concerned with the sustainability of cotton production. Previous research has demonstrated the effect of fiber-seed attachment force on the energy required to gin cotton, which will affect the ginning rate at commercial gins. While fiber-seed attachment force is highly correlated with ginning energy, only a small portion of the energy used by the gin stand is required to overcome this force. Furthermore, the fiber-seed attachment force is not directly correlated with quality parameters, such as short fiber content, or the optimum ginning rate for a cultivar. A greater understanding of other forces involved in the ginning process, particularly fiber cohesion, is needed to optimize ginning rates and improve gin stand design. Three replications of five genotypes of cotton were grown in 2015 and 2016 in Stoneville, MS. Cotton was ginned at two rates in the microgin at the USDA-ARS Cotton Ginning Research Unit, and a sample was also ginned on a 10-saw laboratory gin. Energy use and processing rate during ginning was measured. HVI and AFIS fiber quality parameters, as well as static and dynamic cohesion were measured on the ginned lint. Energy used by the card during textile processing was also measured. Additional AFIS samples were collected after opening and after carding, and sliver uniformity was measured. For 2015, cultivar had a significant effect on energy use by the gin stand, lint cleaner, and card; however, none of these measurements were correlated. For a given ginning rate, lint cleaner energy was positively correlated with fiber length. Card energy was negatively correlated with fiber length, strength, short fiber content before and after carding, and sliver uniformity; fineness was positively correlated. Drafting tenacity measured during static cohesion testing only had a negative correlation with short fiber content measured after opening. This preliminary data indicated that carding energy was most strongly correlated with fiber damage, with cultivars requiring the least energy to card sustaining more damage. In 2016, additional samples will be collected before lint cleaning to determine if carding energy is also predictive of fiber damage in the gin.