Author
 |
Anthony, William |
|
Submitted to: Cotton Gin and Oil Mill Press
Publication Type: Trade Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 1/19/2005 Publication Date: 6/25/2005 Citation: Anthony, W.S. 2005. Color change in cotton bales with low levels of moisture applied at the lint slide. Cotton Gin and Oil Mill Press. Vol. 106(13): 5-11. Interpretive Summary: INTERPRETIVE SUMMARY NOT REQUIRED - PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED Technical Abstract: Previous studies clearly indicate that water droplets sprayed directly on cotton fiber at the lint slide cause color change and weight loss during storage. This report describes research to determine the impact of moisture added by the humidified air and direct spray approaches to cotton bales at a commercial gin. The study involved 48 bales of cotton from six different modules of seed cotton with several different moisture restoration regimes applied. The regimes included 1) standard processing without the addition of moisture, 2) humidified air, 3) direct spray, and 4) combination of one and two. Generally the test sequence was as follows: 1) gin one module for practice, 2) gin the first bale of the test module for practice or warm-up, 3) apply one of the four treatments on two consecutive bales, 4) process two practice bales to adjust for the next restoration condition, and 5) continue with next treatment. A standard ginning sequence for the cotton including two driers, two cylinder cleaners, one stick machine, extractor-feeder, gin stand, and one lint cleaner was used. Two driers at 200 ºF were used on the low moisture treatments, one drier at 200 °F was used on the medium moisture treatments, and one drier at 100 ºF was used on all the high moisture treatments. A strip-laminated, woven-polypropylene, bagging was used on all bales. The amount of water added per bale ranged from 0 to 4%. The bales were weighed on 8 occasions, beginning with immediately after packaging. The class data after moisture restoration was subtracted from the class data before the moisture restoration for each factor and the difference between the means was zero in all cases. After storage for six months the bales were shipped to Clemson for opening and subsequent moisture analyses and HVI testing. Average bale moistures at Clemson ranged from 6.5% to 7.3% and back-calculated moistures based on weight change to estimate the actual moisture before storage ranged from 4.6% to 8.1%. Minor changes in Rd and +b occurred until moistures reached about 7.3% (wet basis), then the Rd changed substantially. This test clearly showed the negative effect of low levels of moisture, beginning at about 7% moisture content. |
