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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #66795
Title: EFFECTIVENESS OF AIR-TYPE LINT CLEANERS AT COMMERCIAL GINS

Author
item Mangialardi Jr, Gino

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Lint cleaners at cotton gins improve the grade and market value of cotton, but excessive cleaning can reduce bale values and some quality factors. Textile mills prefer that ginned lint be cleaned at gins with only one saw-type lint cleaner, but many gins use two stages of saw lint cleaning to obtain higher grades. Experiments were conducted to study the characteristics and efficiency of flow-through air-type lint cleaners operating under commercial gin conditions. Comparisons were also made to a controlled-batt saw-type lint cleaner. One air-type lint cleaner gave only 43 percent the cleaning that was obtained with one saw-type lint cleaner. However, the air-type cleaners caused less fiber damage than the saw-type cleaners. Information from the field study will be used to (1) advise cotton ginners on the proper use of air-type lint cleaners and (2) plan new studies to develop lint cleaners that better supplement lint cleaning with only one saw-cylinder cleaner and ensure acceptable market return.

Technical Abstract: Experiments were conducted in 1994 at two commercial gins to study the characteristics and efficiency of flow-through air-type lint cleaners operating under standard field conditions. Comparisons were also made to a controlled-batt saw-type cleaner. Twenty bales were sampled from 11 modules of seed cotton. Measurements included lint foreign matter content, ,classer's grade, HVI data, nep count, and seed-coat fragment content. Overall, the air-type lint cleaner gave a cleaning efficiency of 12 percent compared to 28 percent for one saw-type lint cleaner. The air lint cleaners did not change the color grade but improved the leaf grade index significantly. Over the entire test, the air lint cleaner improved the leaf grade designation from 3.9 to 3.5, and the saw lint cleaner gave a further improvement to 2.8. The air-type cleaners caused less fiber damage than the saw-type cleaners. The study showed that an air-type lint cleaner rcan help to supplement lint cleaning with only one saw-cylinder lint cleaner when a second stage of saw-type lint cleaning is not desired.