New Baling Press for Gin Waste (Gin Trash) for Additional Revenue

Eventually, most cotton gin operations will either have a gin trash baling press or a gin trash processing facility at the gin site.  Because most gins do not actually produce enough waste biomass to justify a gin trash processing facility for converting to byproducts, most gins will eventually acquire a gin trash baling press…just as most gins now utilize mote presses.

In addition to making very good bales from the gin trash, this press bales gin waste biomass AT THE SAME RATE AS GINNING COTTON.  This eliminates double handling of low-value gin trash and makes loading trailers of dense bales simple and efficient.  For many gins, this new process could convert what is now mostly ginning cost (handling/disposal of gin trash) in to additional gin revenue. 

One gin trash bale is produced for each four to five UD bales of cotton produced.  Gin trash bales weigh ~ 575 pounds and measure 24’ x 24” x 55” – 60” long.  Gin trash bales stack into a van or onto a flatbed trailer for shipping weights of 42,000 to 46,000 pounds.  Because the bales are dense and well formed, they can be handled multiple times with little or no damage (unlike baled gin trash of the past).  Gin waste bales can be made from normal gin-run trash or trash with most of the fiber removed by a fiber reclaimer system.

Field work and testing of this new baling system was completed at Rolling Hills Gin during 2013 with Wes Morgan contributing to the refinement of the baling process and development of additional automated features.  Wes shares his new experiences in baling, handling, and shipping of gin waste bales and certain marketing opportunities as well as his prior experiences baling gin waste with another style of baler.