Effects of Gin Drying and Cleaning Practices on Properties of Bleached and Resin Treated Fabrics

Fabrics made from lint cotton subjected to twelve combinations of ginning practices —seed cotton cleaning, lint cleaning, and drying levels—were tested as gray, bleached, and resin treated fabrics. The seed cottons dried to the lowest moisture level before ginning produced the weakest gray fabrics. Bleaching caused no accentuation of their differences in breaking and tearing strengths which could be associated with the ginning practice since strengths of all twelve fabrics were reduced about the same amounts. Resin treatment and laundering decreased the differences in strengths among fabrics. Density of cellulose was slightly higher for the three lots dried to the lowest moisture level. Moisture regains of the bleached fabrics were essentially equal. Alkali centri fuge swelling values were more closely associated with fiber fineness than with the ginning practices. Among the fabrics, differential dyeing detected differences asso ciated with fiber fineness but not with ginning practices. Degree of polymerization was reduced by bleaching but showed no consistent relation to seed cotton treatment. Inconsistencies among samples within groups do not permit conclusions to be reached as to effects of seed cotton cleaning or lint cleaning.