^%SH Av. s United States Department of Agriculture Cotton Ginners Agricultural Research Service Handbook Agricultural Handbook Number 503 December 1994 c^ •t>c: en„JO en: 2Sm cnC >2 1 A .LÎBRAR T3 en "■-" ¡ir"!) _j -c Cotton Ginners Handbook W.S. Anthony and William D. Mayfield, Managing Editors AJBSTRâCT Anthony, W.S., and William D. Mayfield, eds. 1994. Cotton Ginners Hand- book, rev. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Handbook 503, 348 pp. he principal function of the cotton gin is to separate lint from seed, but the gin must also be equipped to remove foreign matter, mois- ture, and other contaminants that significantly reduce the value of the ginned lint. Gins must produce a quality of lint that brings the grower maximum value while meeting the demands of the spinner and consumer. Operating gin machinery in accordance with the recommended speeds, adjustments, maintenance, and throughput rates will produce the highest possible fiber quality. A standardized sequence that includes dryers to obtain the proper moisture level as well as machines to remove the foreign matter is recommended for processing cotton at the gin. This publication addresses the key ginning issues concerned with facilities, machinery, cleaning, ginning, drying, packaging, and waste collection and disposal as well as ancillary issues concerned with pollution, management, economics, energy, insurance, safety, cotton classification, and textile machinery. Kejnvords: Ginning, machinery, cleaning, packaging, pollution, textile, management, economics, moisture, heating, cotton, drying, safety, insur- ance, cotton classification, saw ginning, and roller ginning. Trade names are used in this publication solely for the purpose of providing specific information. Mention of a trade name does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or an endorsement by the Department over other products not mentioned. Copies of this publication can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402. Once GPO supplies are exhausted, copies may be purchased from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-5881 (voice) or (202) 720-7808 (TDD). To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, 20250, or call (202) 720-7327 (Voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer. Revised December 1994. Supersedes Agriculture Handbook No. 260, Handbook for Cotton Ginners, February 1964, and Agriculture Handbook No. 503, Cotton Ginners Handbook, July 1977. coNTSi^rrs vi List of Contributors 1 Section 1—Development of the Cotton Gin William D. Ma5rfield and W.S. Anthony 7 Section 2—Cotton Production, Harvesting, and Storage 7 Production Practices R.B. Metzer, E.B. Minton, and T.A. Kerby 11 Harvesting J.R. Williford, A.D. Brashears, and G.L. Barker 16 Seed Cotton Storage and Handling William F. Lalor, M. Herbert Willcutt, and Robert G. Curley 26 Section 3—^Management and Economics 26 Economics of Gin Operation O.A. Cleveland, Jr., and William D. Mayfield 30 Gin Management William D. Mayfield, Charles Owen, and Hugh H. Summerville, Jr. 33 Federal Labor Laws Fred Johnson, Robert Tucker, and K.B. Smith 36 Gin Insurance Fred Johnson, Daniel Moore, Tomy Smith, and Ronald Gleghom 39 Section 4—Gin Facilities 39 Site Selection, Facility and Machinery Arrangement R.V. Baker, D.W. Van Doom, and B.M. Norman 43 Section 5—^The Ginning Process 43 Overview of the Ginning Process W.S. Anthony 46 Seed Cotton Unloading Systems J.W. Laird, B.M. Norman, S. StuUer, and P. Bodovsky 58 Moisture Control S.E. Hughs, G.J. Mangialardi, Jr., and S.G. Jackson 69 Seed Cotton Cleaning and Extracting R.V. Baker, W.S. Anthony, and R.M. Sutton 90 Gin Stands E.P. Columbus, D.W. Van Doom, B.M. Norman, and R.M. Sutton 102 Lint Cleaning G.J. Mangialardi, Jr., R.V. Baker, D.W. Van Doom, B.M. Norman, and R.M. Sutton 119 Packaging Lint Cotton W.S. Anthony, D.W. Van Doom, and Douglas Herber 143 Section 6—Materials Handling 143 Pneumatic and Mechanical Handling Systems R.V. Baker, E.P. Columbus, R.C. Eckley, and B.J. Stanley 172 Abatement of Air Pollution and Disposal of Gin Waste C.B. Pamell, Jr., E.P. Columbus, and William D. Mayfield 195 Cottonseed Handling and Storage M. Herbert Willcutt and William D. Mayfield 215 Section 7—A Comprehensive Gin Maintenance Program T.K. Keilty 225 Section 8—Energy Utilization and Conservation in Cotton Gins W.S. Anthony and Robert C. Eckley 237 Section 9—Ginning Recommendations 237 Effects of Gin Machinery on Cotton Quality William D. Mayfield, W.S. Anthony, R.V. Baker, and S.E. Hughs 240 Ginning Recommendations for Processing Machine-Picked Cotton W.S. Anthony, S.E. Hughs, and William D. Mayfield 242 Ginning Recommendations for Processing Machine-Stripped Cotton R.V. Baker 244 Section 10—Roller Ginning Marvis N. Gillum, D.W. Van Doom, B.M. Norman, and Charles Owen 259 Section 11—Gin Safety 259 Safety and Health of Gin Workers D.L. Roberts, R.V. McManus, R. Shanoian, and D. Smith 279 Noise In Cotton Gins W.S. Anthony and J. Weldon Laird 287 Section 12—The Classification of Cotton Jesse F. Moore 293 Section 13—Textile Industry Needs Frank X. Werber and Everett E. Backe 307 Appendix A—Duties of Gin Personnel William D. Mayfield, Bobby Greene, and Lon Mann 310 Appendix B—Portable Moisture Meters W.S. Anthony 315 Appendix C—Pink BoUworm Control in Gins S.E. Hughs and Marvis N. Gillum 323 Glossary 331 Index MBTOW coirmiBiiTORS W.S. Anthony, supervisory agricultural engineer and research leader, U.S. Cotton Ginning Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 256, Stoneville, MS 38776 Everett E. Backe, senior scientist, Institute for Textile Technology, P.O. Box 391, Charlottesville, VA 22901 R.V. Baker, supervisory agricultural engineer and research leader. Cotton Production and Processing Research, USDA-ARS, Route 3, P.O. Box 215, Lubbock, TX 79411 G.L. Barker, agricultural engineer. Cotton Production and Processing Research, USDA-ARS, Route 3, P.O. Box 215, Lubbock, TX 79411 P. Bodovsky, manager. Textile Systems Division, Continental Conveyor & Equipment Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1376, Sherman, TX 75090 (retired) A.D. Brashears, agricultural engineer. Cotton Production and Processing Research, USDA-ARS, Route 3, P.O. Box 215, Lubbock, TX 79411 O.A. Cleveland, Jr., extension marketing specialist and professor of agricultural economics, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 5446, Mississippi State, MS 39762 E.P. Columbus, agricultural engineer, U.S. Cotton Ginning Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 256, Stoneville, MS 38776 Robert G. Curley, extension agricultural engineer. Cooperative Extension Service, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616 (retired) Robert C. Eckley, consulting engineer, Eckley Engineering, 205 North Fulton Street, Fresno, CA 93701 Marvis N. Gillum, agricultural engineer. Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 578, Mesilla Park, NM 88047 Ronald Gleghorn, Employers Insurance Company, 25 Briercroft, Office Park, Lubbock, TX 79412 Bobby Greene, manager, Servico, Inc., P.O. Box L, Courtland, AL 35618 Douglas Herber, manager, Marketing/Processing Technology, National Cotton Council, P.O. Box 12285, Memphis, TN 38182 S.E. Hughs, supervisory agricultural engineer and research leader. Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 578, Mesilla Park, NM 88047 S.G. Jackson, president, SamuelJackson, Inc., P.O. Box 16587, Lubbock, TX 79490 Fred Johnson, ginner representative. National Cotton Council, P.O. Box 12285, Memphis, TN 38182 T.K. Keilty, technical director, Anderson Clayton, 615 S. 51st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85065 T.A. Kerby, extension cotton specialist. University of California, 17053 Shaffer Avenue, Shaffer, CA 93263 J. Weldon Laird, agricultural engineer. Cotton Production and Processing Research, USDA-ARS, Route 3, P.O. Box 215, Lubbock, TX 79411 William F. Lalor, vice president, agricultural research division, Cotton Incorporated, 4505 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh, NC 27612 G.J. Mangialardi, Jr., agricultural engineer, U.S. Cotton Ginning Labora- tory, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 256, Stoneville, MS 38776 Lon Mann, owner, Mann's Gin, Marianna, AR 72360 William D. Mayfîeld, national program leader—cotton, USDA Extension Service, 7777 Walnut Grove Road, P.O. Box 5, Memphis, TN 38120 R.V. McManus, extension safety engineer, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70894 R.B. Metzer, extension agronomist—cotton, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 (retired) E.B. Minton, plant pathologist, USDA-ARS, Stoneville, MS 38776 (retired) Daniel Moore, vice president, Centralia Marine Underwriters, P.O. Box 17992, Memphis, TN 38187 Jesse F. Moore, director. Cotton Division, USDA-AMS, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456 B.M. Norman, vice president of engineering. Continental Eagle Corporation, P.O. Box 1000, Prattville, AL 36067 Charles Owen, manager, Glenbar Gin, P.O. Box 459, Pima, AZ 85543 C.B. Parnell, Jr., professor, Agricultural Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 D.L. Roberts, professor and extension safety specialist, Agricultural Engineering Department, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631 (deceased) R. Shanoian, safety manager, J.G. Boswell Company, P.O. Box 457, Corcoran, CA 93212 D. Smith, safety engineer. Ensign Safety and Health Advisory, 300 W. Shaw Avenue, Suite 479, Clovis, CA 93612 K.B. Smith, executive vice president, California Cotton Ginners Association, 1900 North Gateway Boulevard, Suite 156, Fresno, CA 93727 Tomy Smith, president and national production manager, Cornwall & Stevens, S.E.