Location: Cotton Ginning Research
2017 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Reducing plastic contamination in cotton gins. Plastic contamination is a significant problem for the U.S. cotton industry, likely costing over $100 million per year and the loss of access to certain markets. The introduction of a new harvester that produces a seed cotton module wrapped in plastic, as well as greater use of contamination detection equipment in mills, has increased industry concerns regarding plastic contamination. No research had previously been conducted on plastic removal in the cotton gin. A study by ARS researchers in Stoneville, Mississippi was conducted that determined that conventional ginning equipment removed some plastic from cotton; however, nearly 20% remained in the ginned lint, primarily from larger and thicker sources of plastic in the raw seed cotton. Studies were conducted to increase plastic removal of conventional gin equipment, as this could avoid the cost of additional machinery at the gin. Increasing the air flow rate through the cylinder cleaner 67% above the manufacturer’s recommended rate increased plastic removal between 20 and 30 percentage points. For each 100 rpm decrease in cylinder speed, plastic removal increased by 4 percentage points and fiber loss decreased. This information has been communicated to ginners through presentations at research conferences, cotton ginners association meetings, and gin schools.
Review Publications
Hardin IV, R.G., Byler, R.K. 2016. Removal of sheet plastic materials from seed cotton using a cylinder cleaner. Journal of Cotton Science. 20(4):375-385.
Bechere, E., Fang, D.D., Kebede, H.A., Hardin Iv, R.G., Islam, M.S., Li, P., Scheffler, J.A. 2017. Quantitative trait loci analysis for net ginning energy requirements in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Euphytica. 213:160-171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-017-1951-z.
