Ginning cotton, energy requirements

Table I. Representative Energy Requirements Per Bale, for Ginning Cotton.a b...

Energy requirements were based on a fully utilized model gin that processes machine-picked cotton at rates of 12 to 14 bales/ hr and do not include energy consumed during idling or other periods of downtime. 

Information in Table II describes the performance characteristics of typical seed cotton drying systems and Illustrates some of the effects of drying fibers to a level below the optimum. Generally, these data show that fibers ginned at moisture contents below 6 percent were shorter and produced lower yarn break factors than fibers ginned at moisture contents above 6%. Obviously, the amount of energy required for drying... 

The successful operation of this system demonstrated the potential for heat recovery from incineration of cotton gin trash. At a 30% recovery ratio, enough heat can be recovered from the incineration process to supply most of the energy required for seed cotton drying, even in low-capacity gins (Table IX). Only the size and volume of the ginning operation will dictate whether such recovery will be economically feasible. 

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