Six lint cleaning arrangements were evaluated in a study designed to determine important relationships between gin cleaning, fiber end-use value, and bale loan value. Conventional saw-type lint cleaners and a beater-type cleaner were employed. While the beater-type cleaner is a machine designed primarily for use at a textile mill, it was felt that it might serve a useful purpose at the cotton gin if it could be used to reduce the number of saw-type lint cleaners normally required for adequate cleaning. The six cleaning arrangements included 1, 2, and 3 stages of saw-type cleaning, and the beater cleaner alone in two combinations with one saw-type cleaner. These arrangements were compared to a ginning arrangement without lint cleaning to measure changes in fiber length, nep and bark levels, trash content, and bale loan value resulting from lint cleaning. Spinning performance and yarn quality data are also being obtained and will be reported when available.

Two and three stages of saw-type lint cleaning significantly reduced fiber length and increased nep content. Three stages of lint cleaning significantly increased short fiber content. The other cleaning arrangements did not significantly affect these parameters. Each stage of saw-type lint cleaning tended to reduce the number of large bark strands present in the cleaned lint, but the beater-type cleaner had no significant effect on bark content. All cleaning arrangements reduced the trash content of the lint, but a saw-type machine was more efficient than the beater-type cleaner. A saw-type machine in combination with the beater-type cleaner produced a trash content that was slightly higher than that obtained with two saw-type machines. Even though the beater cleaner did not remove as much trash as the saw-type machine, it tended to break up less trash and to leave fewer finely divided trash particles in the lint. Bale loan value increased with amount of cleaning and the highest value was obtained with three saw-type machines. The beater-type cleaner did not improve bale value when it was the only cleaner employed, but when used in combination with one saw-type machine the resulting bale value was equivalent to that obtained with two saw-type lint cleaners.