Survey of Seed Cotton Cleaning Equipment In Mid-South Gins

The performance of seed cotton cleaning equipment in commercial gins is not well documented.  Most research reporting cleaning efficiencies of this machinery was done using small-scale ginning equipment and performed under optimal conditions.  Commercial gins must often process cotton with high moisture or foreign matter content.  Furthermore, processing rates in commercial gins vary significantly and often exceed recommended rates.  Seed cotton samples were collected from modules and after each seed cotton cleaner in Mid-South gins in 2009 and 2010, and the types, number and widths of seed cotton cleaning machinery were recorded for these gins.  Data was analyzed to determine factors affecting cleaning efficiency of various gins.