ABSTRACT

A screening experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Lewis Electric Company's Cotton Moisture System for restoring moisture to cotton at the battery condenser during ginning. The study was designed to assess claims that the unit can restore moisture to cotton at any given reasonable target value and to do it evenly and uniformly throughout the bale. Additional tests were performed to determine if any quality deterioration of fiber properties occurred after one year in storage. Target levels of five, eight, and ten percent final bale moisture content were studied. One six percent bale was also used in this investigation for mix variability spinning trials. The results of the moisture content tests showed that the Lewis Electric Company's Cotton Moisture System accurately restores moisture to cotton bales at the target level desired, and it maintains the target level evenly and uniformly during the building of the bale. After three months in warehouse storage, the moisture contents of the test bales were close to the values determined immediately after ginning, overall and throughout the bales. After one year in storage, the higher the level of moisture restoration initially, the higher the value obtained from bone dry testing. USDA tests for bacteria, dust, and fungi showed the higher moisture content bales to be lower in total bacteria, gram negative bacteria, and fungi compared to the lower moisture content bales. The ten percent bales were higher in bacteria and fungi than the eight percent bales. No differences were found with respect to dust from any of the moisture restoration levels studied. High Volume Instrument (HVI) and Advanced Fiber Information Systems (AFIS) fiber test results after one year in storage showed a possible loss in fiber strength at all moisture levels, and the higher the moisture content the lower the color Rd value and the higher the +b value. The color change was slight in all cases. AFIS measurements showed a trend towards improved fiber length and lower short fiber content as the level of restored moisture increased. Increases in moisture also tend to decrease AFIS seed coat neps, and improves immature fiber content values.