ARS | Publication request: The impact of high speed roller ginning on yarn quality

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: January 6, 2012
Publication Date: April 26, 2012
Citation: Thibodeaux, D.P., Hughs, S.E., Insley, Sr., R. 2012. The impact of high speed roller ginning on yarn quality. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. 1412-1419.

Interpretive Summary: The purpose of the test series was to determine what value the improved fiber length properties of upland cottons processed on the high speed roller gin had for textile processing. Upland cottons are normally saw ginned but the development of the high speed roller gin makes roller ginning of upland cottons competitive with the production rates of saw gin stands. The ginning treatments consisted of processing the same upland cotton through a high speed roller gin stand with minimal lint cleaning as well as through a saw gin stand with three different levels of saw-type lint cleaning. The spinning treatments then included carded ring, combed ring, carded compact and combed compact spinning. It was demonstrated for the first time that roller ginning has a potential of significant economic advantage over conventional saw ginning. It was shown that the roller ginned upland could eliminate the costly combing process while still producing high quality yarns. Elimination of combing for the yarn spinner would be a significant cost savings in producing high quality yarns.

Technical Abstract: Recent advance in cotton ginning technology have resulted in increases in the speed, throughput, and overall economics of roller ginning to make it competitive with conventional saw ginning. The present study was aimed at determining if the improvements in fiber quality, i.e. longer fibers with higher length uniformity and less short fiber actually translated into improved yarn spinning process and product quality. The study involved three ginning protocols on the same seed cotton: high speed roller ginning with no lint cleaning and conventional saw ginning with both one and three lint cleaning steps. Four different spinning treatements were included: carded ring, combed ring, carded compact, and combed compact spinning. The expected improvements in fiber length characteristics successfully translated into improvements in yarn quality for all four spinning treatments. Finally, for the first time, it was demonstrated that high speed roller ginning has a significant economic advantage over conventional saw ginning in that it has the potential of eliminating the costly combining process while producing yarns have quality similar to combed yarns.