Breaker cards

Before processing, wool has to be scoured to remove contaminating particles such as dirt, sweat, and wool fat. The wool is dried in perforated cylinder driers and then opened in the breaker card. After these stages the fibers are oiled to alter the frictional properties of the fibers and to prevent electrostatic charging. The fibers are then pneumatically transported to the mixing chamber. Because raw wool scouring systems are very expensive and subject to strict environmental protection laws, most worsted spinning mills purchase scoured wool, card slivers, or combed slivers. 

Card ox is a device for breaking coal in gaseous mines by the pressure, produced on heating liquefied carbon dioxide. It is briefly described in Vol 2 of Encycl, p C67-R. Similar devices, Airdox and Armstrong Air Breaker, were developed in. 1930 in the US. More successful were Hydrox developed in 1955 and Chemecol developed by du Pont Co before 1958. They are also Hydraulic Coal Bursters (See Vol 3 of Encycl, p C434)... 

Generally two carding machines, known as breaker and finisher cards, are used in sequence to enables gentle treatment of the fibres with effective extraction of any remaining trash and other particles while maintaining a high production rate. 

Figure 3.2 schematically depicts a typical spinning preparation line (blow room) for cotton. It starts on the left with a bale breaker, followed by several cleaning units and a mixer, and is completed with a dust and foreign matter extractor. The next step is carding (not shown). 

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