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Title: Saw-type Lint Cleaner Damage by Machinery Components

Author
item Delhom, Christopher - Chris
item Byler, Richard
item Cui, Xiaoliang
item Thibodeaux, Devron

Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/23/2008
Publication Date: 7/2/2008
Citation: Delhom, C.D., Byler, R.K., Cui, X., Thibodeaux, D.P. 2008. Saw-type Lint Cleaner Damage by Machinery Components. ASABE Annual International Meeting. Providence, RI. Paper No. 084094. 9 pages.

Interpretive Summary: Cotton gins successfully remove lint from seed; however the ginned lint still contains foreign matter such as seed coat and plant matter. Saw-type lint cleaners are commonly used to improve the overall quality of ginned lint by removing non-lint content and less desirable short fibers. Saw-type lint cleaners are effective at removing less-desirable material; however a certain amount of good lint is removed with the less-desirable material. Additionally, the saw-type lint cleaners may also inflict damage on some of the remaining good lint. The international market demands high quality cotton with little foreign matter and a longer mean fiber length than the domestic market has traditionally required, therefore it is important to efficiently remove foreign matter while causing minimal damage to the ginned lint. The influence of the various components of the saw-type lint cleaner on damage is not clearly understood. A study was conducted to isolate the effects of the individual components of the lint cleaner. Additionally, a method to quantify the quality of lint in the waste stream of the lint cleaner has been examined. The feed works alone caused an increase in short fiber content while mean fiber length was shown to decrease due to fiber damage. Mean fiber length improved as more short fibers were removed from the lint by the saw-type lint cleaners. A more thorough understanding of the effect of individual components of the lint cleaner on fiber quality will allow for effective design improvements to the saw-type lint cleaner which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the lint cleaner and lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness of the lint cleaners on preparing ginned lint. The more efficient removal of non-lint content and reduced damage to the mean length of ginned lint will lead to a better quality of cotton ready to meet the demands of the international marketplace, resulting in more profit to the US producers.

Technical Abstract: Saw-type lint cleaners are commonly used to improve the overall quality of ginned lint by removing non-lint content and less desirable short fibers; however saw-type lint cleaners discard a certain amount of good lint while removing foreign matter and short fiber from the good lint. The saw-type lint cleaners may also inflict damage on some of the remaining good lint. It is desirable to efficiently remove foreign matter while causing minimal damage to the ginned lint in order to improve the overall quality of the ginned lint. The effect of the various components of the saw-type lint cleaner on damage is not clearly understood. A study was conducted with a lint cleaner that was modified to allow the effects of the individual components to be isolated and studied. Additionally, a method to quantify the quality of lint in the waste stream of the lint cleaner has been examined. The feed works alone caused an increase in short fiber content while mean fiber length was shown to decrease due to fiber damage. Mean fiber length measurements improved as more short fibers were removed from the lint by the saw-type lint cleaners. A more thorough understanding of the effect of individual components of the lint cleaner on fiber quality will allow for effective design improvements to the saw-type lint cleaner which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the lint cleaner and lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness of the lint cleaners on preparing ginned lint. The more efficient removal of non-lint content and reduced damage to the mean length of ginned lint will lead to a better quality of cotton ready to meet the demands of the international marketplace.