Design of a Plastic Removal System for a Cotton Gin Module Feeder

U.S. cotton has a reputation for being very clean and has commanded premium prices in the international market over the years. The introduction of onboard module builders on harvesters has introduced plastic into the cotton process stream. These module covers, despite their benefits, are occasionally damaged during transportation and handling and pose a contamination threat to the seed cotton.  A system was developed by USDA-ARS to detect and remove plastic at the gin stand feeder apron. While this system has performed successfully in commercial installations, not all plastic is removed; additional removal points in the gin are necessary to achieve the goal of zero contamination. Plastic collects on the dispersing cylinders of the module feeder, an automated system to remove this plastic would prevent plastic from entering the gin and reduce gin labor requirements. In this work we designed and constructed an automated plastic removal mechanism for a small-scale cotton module feeder using the USDA-ARS plastic detection algorithm and a brush removal system.