Effect of Seed Cotton Cleaner Speeds on Machine Performance

Previous research has indicated that seed cotton cleaner speeds other than the standard factory settings may provide improved cleaning efficiency, while minimizing fiber loss.  The decreasing cost of control hardware and software may make cleaner speed control profitable for cotton gins. Furthermore, gin managers commonly report fiber loss from stick machines; however, this has not been consistently demonstrated in laboratory testing.  Increasing stick machine speeds may provide some evidence of the mechanisms of this fiber loss.  Seed cotton was processed through the recommended sequence of gin machinery- a cylinder cleaner, stick machine, cylinder cleaner, extractor-feeder, gin stand, and a single lint cleaner.   The cylinder cleaners and stick machines were operated at the standard factory setting and speeds 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% greater.  Four cultivars were tested in a factorial design, with the experiment blocked by replication.  Foreign matter content of the seed cotton before processing and prior to ginning was determined.  The foreign matter content and quality of the lint (as determined by HVI and AFIS) was measured before and after the lint cleaner.  The material removed by each seed cotton cleaner was weighed and manually sorted to quantify fiber loss.