Seed cotton drying

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... 

Table II. Some Effects of Seed Cotton Drying on Fiber and Yarn Properties.3...

Figure 1. Flow diagram of a typical single-stage, seed cotton drying system equipped with a tower bypass...

Table III. Energy Consumption of Air-Moving Fans In a Typical Two-Stage Seed Cotton Drying System, With and Without Bypasses.

Studies have recently been completed in which an insulated seed cotton drying system was compared with an identical... 

Table IV. Alternative Equipment Arrangements for Various Seed Cotton Drying Requirements and Ambient Relative Humidities.

The drying systems were operated at a seed cotton drying rate of 8 bales/hr. 

Heat Recovery Devices The heated air used for seed cotton drying is normally exhausted to the atmosphere after one pass through a tower drier. Since the exhaust air is still relatively... 

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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