Cotton Gin Pneumatic Conveying Systems

Cotton gins use air to move seed cotton, lint, cottonseed, and trash through conveying pipes. In gins, pneumatic conveying systems are the principal means of moving material from one processing stage to another throughout the entire ginning plant. Further, material drying or moisture restoration can be accomplished by heating or humidifying the conveying air. Pneumatic systems are a critical and fundamental component of cotton ginning. Cotton gins use large quantities of air for pneumatic conveying. It is common for a gin to use 4,248 m(3) (150,000 ft(3)) or more of air per minute in its various material conveying systems. Since the density of dry standard air is about 1.2 kg/m3 (0.075 lb/ft(3)), a typical gin using 4,248 m(3)/min (150,000 ft(3)/min) of air moves 305,860 kg (675,000 lb) of air per hour. This mass of air per hour is usually about 1.5 times the total mass of material handled per hour. Typically, more than 60-65% of the total electrical power consumed by a cotton gin is attributed to moving material pneumatically. Properly taking air measurements, determining air flow requirements, sizing conveying pipes, sizing fans to generate required air flow rates, and accounting for specific machinery air requirements are essential to maximizing machine utilization, minimizing energy costs, and decreasing system downtime. This update of the Cotton Ginners Handbook provides current technical information on cotton gin pneumatic systems in an understandable manner. It draws heavily on the knowledge and experience of current and past instructors of the Air Systems classes from the National Cotton Ginners’ Association Gin Schools.