Methods to reduce lint cleaner waste and damage

New technology to automatically engage/disengage grid bars in saw-type lint cleaners to reduce fiber waste and associated fiber damage was evaluated i n five studies. The number of active grid bars in the studies varied from 0 to 10, and as the number of grid bars increased, fiber loss and damage inc reased. Typically for a single 5-grid bar lint cleaner; about 50% of the ma terial that was removed was removed by the first two grid bars; for two lin t cleaners, about 40% of the material was removed by the first two grid bar s. Short fiber content and neps increased over 30% as grid bars increased f rom 2 to 10, and mill performance was degraded. Material removed from lint by saw-type lint cleaners is strongly related to variety, growing condition s and harvesting, and ranged from 6.1 to 17.5 kg (13.4 to 38.6 lb) per bale when two lint cleaners were used. In a 39,000 bale field study where lint cleaning was optimized by a computerized process control system, fiber loss from two grid bars (3.6 kg or 8 lb/bale) was about 25% of that from five g rid bars (13.6 kg or 30 lb/bale).