Cotton

Md. Moniruzzaman
Lecturer
Department of Textile Engineering
Khulna University of Engineering & Technology

1
 Cotton fiber
 Cotton is the backbone of the world’s textile
trade. It is seed fiber.
 The seed hair of wide variety plants of the
gossypium family is known as cotton
 Feature: Low resiliency, Absorbent, natural
cellulose fiber, seed fiber and unicellular fiber.

TNA
Major cotton cultivating countries:

The main cotton producing countries are China(33

million bales), India(26.8 million bales) , USA(17
million bales) , Pakistan, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Australia,
Turkey, Turkmenistan , Greece.
 Turkey
USA 5% Uzbekistan
5%
19%
Pakistan China
9% 27%
India
Turkey 13%
Uzbekistan
USA 5% 5%
19% Pakistan China
9% 27%
India
Africa and Middle East 13%
9%
South America 5% Australia 4%
Africa and Middle East
9%
South America 5% Australia 4%

Cotton producing countries

Cotton production by country worldwide in 2017/2018 (in 1,000 metric tons)

6
Processing chain for cotton
 Sowing seeds and raising
seedlings in nursery pots

Transplanted
seedlings

Sprouting stage
 Seedling stage

Bud stage
Flowering and boll
forming stage
Boll opening stage (Mature period)
 There are four types of species(Botanical ) that
are grown for commercial cotton production:
1. Gossypium Barbadense – Known as extra-long staple cotton. Native to
tropical South America (8% of world production). This species grows as a
small, bushy tree and yields cotton with unusually long, silky fibers. To grow,
it requires full sun and high humidity and rainfall. This species is responsible
for these familiar cotton types; (Peru, Egypt)
 Egyptian
 Pima
 Supima
 Suvin
 Barakat
 Sea Island
 Giza 45 (the rarest, longest cotton fiber available in the
world)
2. Gossypium Hirsutum – Native to Central America, west indies, Mexico, the
Caribbean and southern Florida (90% of world production). This strand of cotton
ranges from 22mm - 33mm. This species was specifically developed for the
American market and produces two of the most cultivated varieties of cotton:
- Short Staple American Upland
- Long Staple American Upland

3. Gossypium Arboreum – Tree cotton, native to India and Pakistan (less than 2%).
This species of cottons produces shorter staple fibers. It is usually found in
products of a lower quality.

4. Gossypium Herbaceum – Levant cotton, native to southern Africa and the

Arabian Peninsula (less than 2%).

Some extra long cotton length:

Pima Cotton - 34mm
Supima Cotton - 34 -38mm
Egyptian Cotton - 31.5mm - 36mm
Giza 45 - 36mm - 48mm
Commercial varieties of cotton:
Sea island cotton
Egyptian cotton
American cotton
Indian Varitey
China cotton
Commercial varieties of cotton:
Sea island cotton:
 It grows on the coast of the Gulf of Florida in Barbados and
in other adjacent island where the climate is favorable.
 This is the height quality and most valuable of all
commercial cotton.
 It is used to produce higher count of yarn.
Properties:
 Length: Average length 2 inch.
 Diameter: Average 0.017mm.
 Color: White to cream.
Advantage: It is famous for its uniformity maturity high luster, softness. It
can be used for producing higher yarn count.
Egyptian cotton:
• This variety is not so fine as sea island but superior to American cotton.
• There are two kinds of Egyptian cotton, one brows and other white. Brow
Egyptian cotton is like Sea Island cotton.
Properties:
 Length: 1.5 to 1.75 inch. Advantage: Brown Egyptian cotton is very
 Diameter: Average 0.017mm. regular and few immature fiber. But white
 Color: Brown. Egyptian cotton is not suitable for higher count.

American cotton:
This is cultivated in United States and south of North America.
Properties:
 Length: Average 1 to 1.25inch.
 Diameter: Average 0.021mm.
 Color: Good natural color.
Indian variety:
 This variety includes Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
 The average staple length ranges from 1/8 inch to 1 inch.
 Mainly fibers are coarse and short fiber.

China cotton:
• This is the lowest grade commercial cotton.
• The fiber length lies between 0.5 to 0.7inch.
• It is twist is not highly developed that’s why it is not suitable
for producing better quality yarn.
Classification of cotton according to length

According to their staple length there are three types of cotton fiber,

Length= ⅜ inch to 1 inch.

Short Staple Coarse and low strength and no or little luster.
Diameter= 13-22 micron.
Example= Indian and Asiatic cotton.
Length= 0.5 inch to 1.25 inch.
Medium Staple Medium strength and medium luster.
Diameter= 12-17 micron.
Example: American cotton and Peruvian types.
Length= 1 inch to 2.5inch.
Long Staple Fine luster and top quality cotton.
Diameter= 10-12 micron.
Example= Sea Island cotton, American Pima and
Egyptian cotton.
Classification of cotton according to maturity

Cotton Fiber consists of lumen and cell wall. The maturity index is depends upon
the thickness of the cell wall.

Mature Fiber:
 It has well developed secondary wall.
 It has very small lumen.
 The cell wall of the moisture swollen fiber represents 50-80% of the round
cross-section.
Immature fiber:
 It has thin Secondary wall
 It has very large lumen
 The immature fiber is U-shaped in cross-section
 The thin walled immature fiber may not twist as they collapse on drying
 The cell wall of the moisture swollen fiber represents 30-45% of the round cross-
section
Dead Fiber:
 It has one primary cell wall
 The bulk of the fiber is on the lumen
 They remain undyed in dyeing.
 The cell wall of the moisture swollen fiber represents less than 25% of the round
cross-section.
General Characteristics of cotton fiber:
Cotton as a natural cellulosic fiber, has a lot of characteristics, such as,

 Comfortable soft hand.

 Good absorbency
 Color retention
 Prints well
 Machine washable
 Dry cleanable
 Good strength
 Drapes well
 Easy to handle and sew
 Dyeability
Cellulose : 80-90 %
Waxes & Fats : 0.5-1 %
Proteins : 0-1.5 %
Hemicelluloses &
Pectin : 4-6 %
Water : 6-8 %
Ash & Mineral Matters : 1-1.8 %
 Environment of cotton cultivation:

 Cotton cultivation mainly takes place in tropical and sub

tropical climates. Sunshine heavy rainfall, higher humidity is
required for cotton cultivation.
 Cotton plants can survive in dry but best cultivation can be
done in place where rain fall is 20” to 60” per year.
 Irrigation is necessary when rainfall is less.
Cultivation of cotton:
1.Seed planted.
2.2 weeks later two leaves appear
3.5-6 weeks later, the first flower appears.
4.8-9 weeks the first flower blooms.
5.Flower fall of leaving boll.
6.Seed hairs start to grow inside the bolls.
7.For 16-18 days, fiber length and perimeter achieved.
8.For the next 22-50 days, cellulose is deposited inside the fibers.
9. When cellulose deposition stops, the bolls dry and cracks to
open.
10.These bolls are picked up manually or by machine. This picking
period is continue for 1-3 months
11.Then ginning is done to collect the cotton fibers.
Some features of cotton plant:
•A plant may posses 100 cotton bolls
•A boll contains 27-45 seeds
•Total amount of fiber in a boll is about 500000
Cotton Flower to fiber
Cotton balls
 Harvesting
Harvesting is one of the final steps in the production of
cotton crops, it is one of the most important. The crop
must be harvested before weather can damage or
completely ruin its quality and reduce yield. Cotton was
once harvested by hand, often by slave labor or tenant
farmers. As recently as 1965, over a fourth of the U.S.
cotton crop was picked by hand. Today, harvesting cotton is
highly mechanized.

Harvesting machines called strippers and pickers efficiently

remove the cotton while leaving the plants undisturbed.
Cotton Picking:
The process of collecting cotton bolls from cotton plant is called
cotton picking.
It is two types-
1. Hand Picking
2. Mechanical Picking

Process sequence of Cotton

Trading: First picking is done
and sent to Module Builder to
make cotton ‘brick’ which
weighs appr. 21000 lb ( Equal to
16 bales). The brick is first sent
to drier and then Ginning
machine. At last bale is formed.
Trading is done at this stage.

Mechanical picker
 Cotton Bale
Cotton Plants Cotton Boll Cotton
Bale

Bale Opener Machine Cotton Bales

Ginning:
The freshly picked cotton has seeds in it, this cotton is called seed
cotton. The trading is done in this condition also, but normally
the trading is done after separation of the fibers from their seed.
So, the process, involves to separate the cotton fibers from seeds
is called ginning. The term "gin" is an abbreviation for engine, and
means "machine".

Objects of ginning:
 Removes the fiber from the seed.
 Remove the neps and wastage in some extents.
 Collect the seed and seedless cotton fiber separately.
 Separate the cotton fiber from the root position of the seeds.
Types of ginning:
1. Saw ginning
2. Roller ginning
Cotton Ginning Process Ginning Process Flowchart:
1. Saw ginning:
The disc number of saw gin is 10-100 and
production capacity is 100-1000kg/hr.
Procedure of saw gin-
1. The cotton with seed is stored in
hopper feeder by feed table or air flow.
2. Spiked roller throws the cotton with
seed on grid bar.
3. The discs of saw gin permits to entry of
seed free fiber through the hole of bar.
4. The empty path of bars (both sides of
saw teeth) permits to entry the fibers
but not seeds.
5. The separated seeds fall on conveyors.
6. The cotton lints are separated from saw
teeth by proper air flow.
7. The separated cotton lints is
transported by conveyor pipe.
Saw gin
2. Roller ginning:
The main part of roller ginning is spiked roller by which seeds are separated
from fiber by air flow.

The working procedures follows-

--The seeded fiber comes in contact with feed roller (2) by the help of feed
Hooper (1).
-- The seeded fibers are embedded on the two feed roller and are feed to
spiked roller.
--The trash are removed by the action of spike and are stored on trash
chamber by perforated sheet.
--Then seeded fiber pass through inclined net by air flow and attached to the
spiked drum. Here accelerating drum separates the cotton fiber and pass
it.
--The accelerating drum (8) transports the cotton fibers.
--Rough surface of functional roller (9) takes only fibers and the seeds are
retained on backing roller.
--The doffing (11) roller separates the fibers from functional roller (9) and
transports through delivery pipe & the seeds fall on conveyor.
1. Feed hooper.
2. Feed roller.
3. Spiked drum.
4. Net.
5. Inclined net.
6. Drum.
7. Ejecting drum.
8. Accelerating drum.
9. Functional roller.
10. Backing of roller.
11. Doffing roller.
12. Perforated sheet.
Difference between saw gin and Roller gin:

Saw gin Roller gin

a. The saw gin is used mainly for short and a. The roller gin is used for longer tuft of
medium length cotton. fibers.

b. Saw ginning is a faster process. b. Roller ginning is a slower process.

c. Labor cost low c. Labor cost high

d. The main functional parts of saw gin are d. The main functional part of roller gin
disc of saw teeth and grid bar. is spiked roller.

e. Ginning is done by pulling fiber with saws e. Ginning is done by gripping and
through ribs. stretching fiber through rollers/blades .

f. Production capacity 1800- 3400 kg/hr f. Production capacity 175- 225 kg/hr
(rotobars)
Faults of Ginning:
 Fiber are broken at the middle position so that it becomes
shorter in length.
 Crush seed remain with the cotton.
 Neps are formed in cotton.
 Remaining excessive trash in the cotton.
 Remaining fibers with seed.
Organic Cotton:
Organic cotton is generally understood as cotton, from plants not
genetically modified, that is certified to be grown without the use of any
synthetic agricultural chemicals, such as fertilizers or pesticides. Organic
cotton is produced according to the internationally recognized organic
farming standards of the EU regulation 834/2007, the USA National
Organic Program (NOP), the Indian National Program for Organic
Production (NPOP) or the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS). Worldwide
production of organic cotton growing at a rate of more than 50% per year.

Organic Cotton
Bi-product of cotton fiber:
Seeds:
Uses: Oils (This oil is best raw material for soap manufacturing.)
Residue: After extraction of oil, the residue is used as food of
animals.
Hulls:
Uses: -Fertilizer.
-Foods for animals.
-Paper
linters:
Uses: -Photographic paper.
-Special bank notes.
-Plastic.
-Acetate and rayon.
Lint & linters:
Lint: The fibers, which are primarily obtained after separating cotton fiber from seeds,
are called lint. Lints are long fibers, which are used for textile application. e.g. yarn,
fabric etc.

Linters: After separating lint, there are some short fibers called linters. Linters are
found after second ginning. It is used as the source of pure cellulose for industry and
for stuffing upholstery and it is used for acetate and rayon.

# Difference between Lint and Linters: Self Study

Fibril:
Fibrils are bundles of linear polymer which form the small fibrous
structure. A fiber is made by the combination of many fibrils. In
primary cell wall of the cotton fibre, the fibrils are about 20 mm
thick and in secondary cell were are 10 mm thick, but their length
is yet unknown.

Convolution
Convolution:
The mature fiber can be recognized by the Under the
microscope, the cotton fiber looks a twisted ribbon or a
collapsed and twisted tube. These twists are called
convolution. Convolution of Egyptian cotton: 230 /cm and of
Indian cotton: 60/cm.

Convolution
Grading Of Cotton Fiber:
 Cotton fibers grading is done depending on their physical
characteristics such as length, strength, fineness, maturity,
trash content etc. This classification is called grading of
fiber.

 The quality of cotton fiber differ from place to place and

plant to plant. The difference in quality can be expressed
in grading and staple length. Grade is generally
determined from three factors viz. (a) color, (b) trash
content and (c) ginning quality.
Grading of US Cotton: This grading Grading of Egyptian Cotton: This cotton
is done from upper quality to grading is done from upper level to lower level.
lower quality.

Middle Fair Extra Fine

↓ ↓
Strict Good Middling Fine
↓ ↓
Good Middling Fully Good
↓ ↓
Strict Middling Good
↓ ↓
Middling Fully Good Fair
↓ ↓
Strict Low Middling Good Fair
↓ ↓
Low Middling Fair
↓
Strict Good Ordinary
↓
Good Ordinary
Grading Of Indian Cotton: This grading
is done from upper grade to lower
grade
Super Choice
↓
Choice
↓
Extra Super Fine
↓
Super Fine
↓
Fine
↓
Fully Good
↓
Good
↓
Fully Good Fair
USDA color grade of cotton
Good middling
Strict middling
Middling
Strict low middling
Low middling
Strict good ordinary Quality of cotton: Quality of
Good ordinary cotton depends on-
•Colour.
•Staple length.
•Fineness.
•Strength.
•Maturity.
•Trash content.
•Uniformity ratio.
Color:
Best cotton is generally white in color.
White
White cotton loses its brightness and it Light Spotted : Lt Sp

Spotted : Sp
becomes yellowish in nature Because
Tinged : Tg
of continued exposure to weathering :
Yellow Stained YS
and the action of microorganisms. Light Grey : Lt Gy

Grey : Gy
Following are the color groups which
are present in cotton fiber:
Strict Good
Trash Content: : DGM
Middling
Trash is the impurities which are present there in :
Good Middling GM
the cotton fibers. The trash includes materials Strict Middling : SM

such as leaf, stems, hulls, bark, seeds, shale, Middling : M

Strict Low
motes, grass, sand, oil and dust. Cottons which : SLM
middling
contain minimum amount of trash after ginning Low middling : LM
Strict good
have highest spinning value. Depending upon the : SGO
Ordinary
trash content, cotton can be graded as follows: Good ordinary : GO
Sometimes, depending upon the trash content, plus (+) can be given to any grade like SLM+ or SGM+.
 Quality of Ginning

In ginning process, we separate the cotton fibers from seed. During this
process there is a chance of formation of entanglements of fibers (neps). Neps
are adversely affecting yarn and fabric appearance as well as quality. Presence
of neps and naps are two important factors to determine the quality of cotton.
Neps are small tangled knots of fiber that are visible as dots. This type of
cotton is known as neppy cotton.
Naps are large clumps or matted masses of fibers that contribute to the
rough appearance. This type of cotton is known as nappy cotton. The quality of
ginning is considered as better if it produces zero or minimum number of neps.
In general, the grading indicates the trash and color of the cotton like LM Tg,
M Lt Gy etc.
1. Cuticle: the outermost layer of cotton is known as the cuticle and is a thin
film of fat, pectin and wax.
2. Primary cell wall: Inside the cuticle the primary wall is composed mainly of
cellulose in which the fibers are arranged in a criss-cross pattern.
3. Secondary cell wall: Under primary wall, secondary wall is composed of
cellulose which constitutes the balk of the fiber.
•The outer most S1 is comparatively thin layer of fibrils oriented vertically
with an angle of 20-35. In this region the fibrils periodically reverse the
direction of the spiral.
•The S2 zone which is situated inside S1, accounts for the bulk of the
cellulose content and in this case, the fibrils are again in the form of helices
with a somewhat lower pitch of 20-30 and which like those S1, are organized
so that there are periodical reversal in the direction of the spiral.
•In very mature fiber the S3 layer can be detected adjacent to the lumen
and it consists of the mineral salt and the proteins.
4. Lumen: The hollow central core of cotton fibers is known as the lumen.
The cross section of the fiber is bean-shaped, swelling almost
round when moisture absorption takes place.
 Chemical Structure of Cellulose/cotton Fiber
 Cotton is mainly composed of cellulose, cellulose belongs to an important
group of organic compounds known as “Carbohydrates” this group includes
sugar, starch, etc.. They contain Hydrogen, Oxygen and Carbon.
 Cellulose content of the raw cotton fiber ranges from 88 to 96 %. Cellulose is a
polymer of ß-D-glucose with a specific configuration shown in figure. The
cellobiose, repeating unit of cellulose, consist of two beta glucose molecules
linked together at the 1:4 carbon atoms. Two such cellobiose molecule can
combined together (with elimination of water) and thus forms a big molecule
structure.

Cellulose
 Polymer system of cotton fiber:

 The cotton polymer is a linear, cellulose polymer. The repeating

unit in the cotton polymer is cellobiose which consists of two
glucose units.
 The cotton polymer consists of about 5000 cellubiose units, i.e.
degree of polymerization.
 The most important chemical (functional) groupings on the cotton
polymer are hydroxyl groups(OH) and methylol groups(CH2OH).
 Cotton is a crystalline fiber. Its polymer system is about 65-70%
crystalline and, correspondingly, about 35-30% amorphous.
Chemically Modified cotton:

PA cotton: Treatment of cotton with acetic anhydride in acetic

acid converts it to partially acetylated cotton (PA cotton). This
material looks like original cotton.

Features: Greater resistance to heat

It has no smell and is non-toxic.
It can withstand attack of micro-organism
It has chemical resistance more than cotton.

AM COTTON: When cotton is treated with 2-aminoethylsulphuric

acid in sodium hydroxide, another form of chemical modification
takes place. The fiber retains its essential structure, but its
properties have changed. The new fiber is known as AM cotton.
CM cotton: Cotton treated with monochloroacetic acid and
then sodium hydroxide is converted into CM cotton.

CN Cotton: Treatment of cotton with acrylonitrile yields a

chemically modified cotton described as cyanoethylated(CN).

PL cotton: Treatment with propiolactone converts cotton into

a modified cotton described as PL cotton.
Bangladeshi cotton:
Mainly American cotton are produced in Bangladesh,
Commercially hybrid cotton are producing at Meherpur,
Jessore, Kuhstia and Gazipur. The quality of Bangladeshi
cotton is improving now. Length, colour, maturity are also
very good. It is possible to produce minimum 60s yarn
from Bangladeshi cotton fibers.
 Cotton cultivation in Bangladesh:
 Cotton cultivation in Bangladesh has now
increased to about 34,642 hectares producing
73,710 bales (1 bale = 180 kg) which can meet
about 16% of the total cotton requirement of
the country.
• Bangladesh cotton production is forecast at
120,000 (480lb) bales in 2013/14, up 11
percent from previous year. Please see figure
1. Area harvested is forecast to reach 45,000
hectares in 2013 as compared to 40,000
hectares in 2012. This 12.5 percent increase
can be attributed to implementation of
Bangladesh Cotton Development plans. The
goal is to gradually convert 20,000 hectares
from tobacco to cotton cultivation and
increased cultivation of cotton in the saline
prone coastal areas in the south.
Cotton imports of Bangladesh: Most yarn spinners in
Bangladesh source around 70% of their cotton requirements
from Central Asia, mainly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Ten
per cent of imports come from the United States, and the
remaining 20% from India, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic,
Australia and various African countries.
 PROPERTIES OF COTTON FIBER

• Cotton, a unique cellulose fiber, possesses an

outstanding range of properties making it one
of the most popular apparel fibers worldwide.
 Physical properties
• Length and width :

Cotton is the shortest natural fiber used in

commercially in the textile industry ranging
from 0.5-2.5 inch in length. The width of
typical cotton fiber may vary between 12-20
microns.
 Physical properties
• Shape & Microscopic view
• A typical, matured raw cotton fiber looks like a
flattened tube and cross section is oval or kidney
shape. Under microscope it is a long twisted
ribbon.
 Physical properties
• Strength :

• Cotton is a moderately strong fiber. Tenacity of

a cotton fiber is 26.5-44 CN/Tex and the
extension at break is about 8-10%.
 Physical properties
• Elasticity :

• Cotton is relatively rigid fiber (less elastic). At

2% extension has an elastic recovery of 74%,
at 5% extension, the elastic recovery is only
45%.
 Physical properties
• Porosity :

• Cotton fiber is somewhat porous and

consequently it absorbs moisture readily.
 Physical properties
• Color :

• Normally the color of cotton is creamy-white.

 Physical properties
• Handle :
• Cotton is naturally very soft and comfortable
that is why it is particularly favored for
garments that get close to the skin.
 Physical properties
• Luster :

• Cotton fibers have a natural luster which is

due to the natural polish on the surface and
its nearly circular cross-sectional shape. The
smooth, hard primary cotton of cellulose
contains waxes which no doubt contribute to
the luster of the fiber.
 Physical properties

 Elongation at break: Cotton does not stress easily. It has an elongation at break
of 5-10%.
 Moisture regain: Standard moisture regain is 8.5%
 Specific gravity: 1.54 %
 Coefficient of friction: 0.25 (for raw dry cotton, otherwise strongly changes for
treated and/or wet fiber)
 Dielectric constant: 3.9-7.5
 Dimensional Stability: Medium
 Abrasion Resistance: Better
Chemical properties of cotton fiber:
 Effects of acids and alkalis: Dissolved in high concentrated mineral acids
such as HCl, H2SO4 but high resistant to alkalis that’s why NaOH, Na2CO3, are
used for scouring of cotton. Concentrated NaOH is also used for cotton
mercerizing.
 Effect of organic solvents: Cotton has high resistance to normal cleaning
solvents. Cotton is dissolved by the copper complexes, such as
cuprammonium hydroxide, cupriethylene diamine and concentrated 70%
H2SO4.
 Effect of heat: Cotton has an excellent resistance to degradation by heat. It
begins to turn yellow after several hours at 1200C and decomposes marked
by at 1500C. As a result of oxidation, cotton is severally damaged after few
minutes at 2400C. Cotton burns in air.
 Effect of sunlight: There is a gradual loss of strength when cotton is exposed
to sun light and the fiber turn yellow. The degradation of cotton by
oxidation is done when heat is promoted and encouraged. By sun light
much of the damage is caused by UV-light and by the shorten weaves of
visible light.
 Effect of insects: Cotton is not attacked by moth grubs or beetles.
 Micro-organism: Cotton is attacked by fungi and bacteria.
 Dye ability: Direct, Reactive, Sulphur and Vat dye.
Increased strength of cotton fiber for
wetting:
When water molecules penetrate into
the interior of fiber, it lies between the
fibrils and into the amorphous regions
of the fiber polymer where they can
easily form hydrogen bonds with free
cellulose hydroxyl groups and the
water absorption causes the swelling
of the secondary cell was but little
fiber elongation. Although absorbed
water acts as a plasticizer, it also
cements the cellulose chains and fibrils
together by hydrogen bonding .These
are the reasons of increasing the
strength of cotton fiber for wetting.
Genetic modification
Genetically modified (GM) cotton was developed to reduce the heavy reliance
on pesticides. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) naturally produces a
chemical harmful to insects. The gene coding for Bt toxin has been inserted into
cotton, causing cotton, called Bt cotton, to produce this natural insecticide in
its tissues. In many regions, the main pests in commercial cotton are
lepidopteran larvae, which are killed by the Bt protein in the cotton they eat.
This eliminates the need to use large amounts of broad-spectrum insecticides
to kill lepidopteran pests. This spares natural insect predators in the farm
ecology and further contributes to noninsecticide pest management.
Identification of cotton fiber:

Burning Test: The smell of cotton burning is like the smell

of paper burning because both are cellulosic materials.

Microscopic test: Kidney shaped cross-section and natural

convolution in the longitudinal direction are the distinct
features of cotton.

Solubility test: Cotton is easily dissolved in 70% H2SO4.

Faults of cotton fiber:
• Neps: Small groups of entangled fibers, which form at
cotton processing. In spinning neps are difficult to eliminate
or to comb. They impair the quality and outward
appearance of yarns.
• Fiber strings: Strongly roped groups of fibers of different
shapes. The same as neps, fiber strings appear at cotton
processing. They can be well combed in spinning but as
neps may appear which are difficult to eliminate.
• Coils: Slightly roped groups of fibers. Their presence is
undesirable as they easily form neps and strings. Mainly
short fibers and ill fibers are form this type of faults. This
presence renders difficult yarn production and impairs the
quality.
•
Faults of cotton fiber:
• Trash: Trash is defined as particles above 500 micro meters
trash typically accounts for 1%to 5% of baled cotton. Mainly
bits of leaves, boll parts, and stems are defined as trash.
• Motes: Small and immature seeds and their fragments
which fall through the grates in grains.
• Crushed seed: Parts of seeds crushed during primary
cotton processing.
• Bearded motes: Small bits of seed hull with fibers. Formed
at seed crushing during primary cotton processing and at
further seed cult to eliminate.
• Dust: Defined as representing particles between 50 and
500 micrometer, dust maybe exhausted into a waste
collector.
Cotton Cultivation is not favorable in
Bangladesh
• Cotton yields are forecast to reach average
levels from the previous year assuming
favorable growing weather. Cotton yields in
Bangladesh do not strongly follow a trend.
Cotton production in Bangladesh is
susceptible to excessive rainfall and flooding.
In the last few years growing conditions have
been favorable.
 End uses of cotton:
 Cotton fabrics combine remarkable durability with attractive
wearing qualities. Cotton fabrics have a pleasant feel or handle.
They are cool in hot weather.
 Cotton is used in great quantity as a fabric for hot-weather wear; it
is able to provide warmth as well.
 Cotton garments are therefore comfortable and cool, passing on
the perspiration from the body into the surrounding air.
 The absorbency of cotton makes it an excellent material for house-
hold fabrics such as sheets and towels too.
 Cotton is widely used in making rainwear fabrics.
 The versatility of cotton has made it into the most widely used of all
textile fibers. Cotton is made into every type of garment and house-
hold fabric. It goes into boots and shoes, carpets and curtains,
clothing and hats. Heavy cotton yarns and materials are used for
tire cords and marquees, tarpaulins and industrial fabrics of all
description.