ARS | Publication request: UV/visible/near-infrared reflectance spectroscopic determination of cotton fiber and trash content in lint cotton waste

Submitted to: Proceedings of SPIE
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: April 3, 2010
Publication Date: April 20, 2010
Citation: Liu, Y., Gamble, G.R., Thibodeaux, D.P. 2010. UV/visible/near-infrared reflectance spectroscopic determination of cotton fiber and trash content in lint cotton waste. Proceedings of SPIE, April 9, 2010, Orlando, FL. p. 1-6.

Interpretive Summary: In the cotton industry, each processing stage produces a considerable amount of cotton waste or trash, which still contains some degree of cotton fiber with similar good quality to those in the bale. To assess the trash content in lint cotton, a number of instrumental methods have been developed. They include the Shirley Analyzer, a destructive gravimetric method, and high volume instrumentation (HVI), a rapid geometric method. In addition, researchers have been developing various techniques, non-spectral and spectral based, for use in the detection and identification of trash in lint cotton. Among them, NIR spectroscopy is an alternative technique due to the speed, low-cost, ease of use, and potential on-line/off-line implementations. In this approach, cotton wastes were scanned in the region of 220-2500 nm and the corresponding reference values were determined by Shirley Analyzer. Partial least squares (PLS) regression models were developed in various spectral ranges and then compared. The overall result indicated that NIR prediction of visible trash and cotton fiber in cotton waste is limited to screening purpose for probable reasons of heterogeneous trash distribution, relatively small sampling area, and gravimetric reference method. The outcome provides cotton fiber / cotton ginning / agricultural engineers and researchers a new sight in applying both optical visible / NIR and imaging spectroscopy for rapid and routine determination of cotton trash.

Technical Abstract: Lint cleaning at cotton processing facilities is performed in order to remove the non-lint materials with minimal fiber damage. The resultant waste contains some degree of cotton fiber having good equal qualities, and hence is of great concern for operating cost. Traditional methods for measuring non-lint trash are labor intensive and time consuming. UV / visible / NIR technique was examined for its feasibility in determining the portions of cotton fiber and trash. Overall result indicated that NIR prediction was limited to screening purpose for probable reasons as heterogeneous trash distribution, relatively small sampling, and gravimetric reference method.