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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #368251
Research Project: Cotton Ginning Research to Improve Processing Efficiency and Product Quality in the Saw-Ginning of Picker-Harvested Cotton

Location: Cotton Ginning Research

Title: Use of pressured-air for cotton lint cleaning

Author
item Sui, Ruixiu

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/2019
Publication Date: 12/15/2019
Citation: Sui, R. 2019. Use of pressured-air for cotton lint cleaning. Journal of Agricultural Science. Vol. 12, No. 1; 2020. https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v12n1p31.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v12n1p31

Interpretive Summary: Machine-harvested cotton contains about 13 to 35% foreign matter. Currently saw-type lint cleaners are the most common lint cleaners used at gins because of their higher cleaning efficiency. Saw-type lint cleaning improves the grade of the fiber and increases the market value for the farmer. However, during the cleaning process the saw-type lint cleaners damage fiber. Over the years, though significant attempts at developing new lint cleaning technologies have been made, today the ginning industry basically uses the same cleaning principles that were developed in the 1940s. ARS scientist at Stoneville, MS developed a new type of lint cleaner, air-bar lint cleaner (ABLC). The ABLC uses pressurized airflow to remove non-lint materials from lint cotton at the gin. Preliminary tests of the ABLC prototype were conducted and the results indicated ABLC generate less lint waste and saved 6 lb cotton lint per bale of cotton compared with the conventional saw-type lint cleaner. Use of ABLC could benefit cotton producers. More research was necessary to further prove the concept of ABLC and improve its performance in preserving cotton fiber quality.

Technical Abstract: An air-bar lint cleaner (ABLC) was developed and evaluated. The ABLC used pressurized air to remove non-lint materials from cotton fiber. During lint cleaning process, non-lint materials attached to the fiber were blown off the fiber without the fiber making aggressive mechanical contact with a grid bar in conventional saw-type lint cleaner (STLC). It was expected using this concept that the fiber quality could be preserved by reducing the damage from mechanical impact of the fiber against the grid bar. Preliminary testing of the ABLC prototype showed that ABLC generated less lint waste and had a higher turnout rate than STLC. Use of ABCL could save 2.8 kg of lint in each 225 kg bale of cotton. The High Volume Instrument (HVI) analysis indicated the fiber properties in fiber length, uniformity, short fiber content, and color were not significantly different between ABLC and STLC. However, the Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) tests showed STLC had better performance than ABCL in fiber length and short fiber content while the trash and dust content with ABCL was lower than the STLC. More research was necessary to further prove the concept of ABLC and improve its performance in preserving cotton fiber quality.