Evaluation of Various Cleaning Alternatives for Cotton Gins

ABSTRACT Experiments were conducted to measure the effects of several lint cleaning arrangements on farmers' bale value, fiber quality, yarn quality and spinning performance. Multiple arrangements of saw-type and beater-type lint cleaners and several combinations of these two machines were evaluated. Two or three saw-type cleaners generally produced the best grades and highest bale values for the farmer under our present grading and marketing systems, and the best rotor spinning performance. These levels of cleaning, however, adversely affected fiber quality and the ring spinning utility of the fiber. No lint cleaning or a minimal amount of cleaning, on the other hand, produced the highest quality fiber and best ring spinning results, but provided the lowest returns for the farmer and the poorest rotor spinning performance. These results highlighted the conflicting cleaning requirements of farmers, ring spinners and rotor spinners. Also, the results showed that the amount of fiber damage incurred during lint cleaning was closely related to the level of cleaning regardless of how many machines or what types of machines were employed to accomplish the cleaning.