High-Speed Roller Ginning of Upland Cotton

An experiment was conducted to determine if upland cotton could be roller ginned at a considerably higher than normal rate without compromising fiber properties and at a rate comparable to saw ginning. A conventional roller gin stand was modified to run at high speed by increasing the frequency of the ginning roller and rotary knife, and increasing the force between the ginning roller and stationary knife. Other changes included adding a spray system to cool the ginning roller, enlarging the lint-flue transition, and modifying the seed-cotton feeder for increased throughput. When ginning upland cotton, the high-speed roller gin stand ginned at a rate comparable to saw ginning. The high-speed roller gin stand had the same horsepower requirement of a saw gin stand. Roller ginning, when compared to saw ginning, produced upland fiber that was about one staple length longer, had less short fiber and neps, had higher turnout, but contained more foreign matter in the lint and cottonseed. Although roller ginning did not increase bale value, the improvement in fiber properties may open up new markets for upland cotton, especially in export markets that value the significance of increased staple length and decreased short fiber contents.