Cotton Stickiness in the Spinning process – Causes,

Consequences and Remedies

Introduction:

In today’s global market, cotton plays a major role in the world

economy. Global competition in the production and consumption of
cotton fiber combined with technological advancements in yarn
manufacturing has accelerated efforts to enhance cotton fiber quality.
Fibre properties influence both productivity and quality in the spinning
process. Cotton stickiness caused by excess sugars on the lint, either from the plant
itself or from insects, is a very serious problem for the textile industry-for cotton growers,
cotton ginners, and spinners. It affects the processing efficiency as well as
the quality of the product. This paper briefly encompasses the causes,
effect in different departments, economics, determination techniques
and remedies of cotton stickiness.

Cotton Stickiness:

The contaminants are mainly sugar deposits produced either by the

cotton plant itself (physiological sugars) or by feeding insects
(entomological sugars), with the latter being the most common source
of stickiness. The main honeydew-producing insects that infest cotton
plants are cotton whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and the cotton
aphid Aphis gossypii (Glover).
 Fig.1 Cotton Aphid Fig.2 White
Fly

Whiteflies and aphids are both sap-sucking insects that feed by

inserting their long and slim stylets into the leaf tissues. The sap is
digested and the excreta discharged as honeydew droplets. The
honeydew attaches itself to the leaves and the fibers of opened bolls.
The presence of these sugars on the lint reveals that the
contamination is coming, at least partially, from insect honeydew. A
high percentage of melezitose along with a low percentage of
trehalulose reveals the presence of aphid honeydew. When both
melezitose and trehalulose are present and trehalulose is dominant,
whitefly honeydew contamination is indicated. The other sugars are
generally found on both non-contaminated and honeydew-
contaminated cottons. It was reported that glucose and fructose
contained in the honeydew are synthesized from sucrose by the insect.

Causes for Stickiness:

The two main causes of sugars or honey dew becoming sticky are heat
and moisture

• During yarn formation the cotton fibers are exposed to friction

forces that elevate the temperature of some mechanical parts,
which affects the temperature-dependent properties of the
 sugars present. If one or more of the sugars melt, stickiness
results.

• Obviously moisture will cause sugars to change from a crystalline

state (non-sticky) to an amorphous state (sticky). In particular,
the relative humidity in the manufacturing environment may
affect the moisture-dependent properties of the sugars present.

Effect of Stickiness in Different processes:

Effect of Stickiness on Ginning:

Sticky Cotton tends to clog/choke the ginning machines. Stickiness reduces roller gin production
by 10 to 15 pounds of lint per hour. Financial losses due to frequent replacement of blades/saws
are in addition

Effect of Stickiness on Spinning:

Stickiness will cause lint to stick to card clothing and draft rollers in subsequent
processes.

Fig.3 Sticky deposits on the draw frame creel

 Fig.4 Sticky deposits on the draw frame drafting zone

Sticky fibres even if they pass through the spinning back process will create extra
centrifugal forces during ballooning causing the yarn to break.

Fig.5 Sticky deposits on the ring spinning frame

In the OE frames stickiness will clog the turbine. No matter how we look at stickiness it
will reduce efficiency and production to a considerable extent during spinning.

Low humidity will dry the sugars and they will cease to be sticky. If however, humidity is
allowed to rise, sugars will become sticky again.
Effect of Stickiness on Weaving:

Stickiness has minimal effect on warp as it is usually sized and the sugar present gets
either dissolved in the hot size mix or is covered by it. However, in weft, sugar starts
building up in shuttle, gripper or air jet and weaving efficiency drops to a level where it
becomes uneconomic to continue weaving. Frequent cleaning of wefts passage would,
therefore, be required. This is time consuming and expensive

Economics of Stickiness:
• To growers - stickiness means higher costs for insect control and reduced cotton
marketability. Cotton price is reduced for stickiness by the market at a rate
proportional to the perception of risk.

• To ginners - stickiness may mean special handling and processing requirements.

Sticky cotton can reduce cotton gin output (in bales/hr) by up to 25%.

• At the textile mill - stickiness means reduced processing efficiency, lower yarn
quality, excessive wear and increased maintenance of machinery may occur even
with slightly sticky cotton.
For everyone concerned, stickiness means reduced profitability.

Stickiness Detection and Measurement:

‘Stickiness’ is the physical process of contaminated lint adhering to equipment

 Fig.6‘Sticky’ cotton is a complex, 3-component interaction among source
(insect or plant sugars), lint and processing equipment

The degree of stickiness depends on chemical identity, quantity, and

distribution of the sugars, the ambient conditions during processing—
especially humidity —and the machinery itself. Stickiness is therefore
difficult to measure. Nonetheless, methods for measuring sugars on
fiber have been and are being developed. These measurements may
be correlated with sticking of contaminated lint to moving machine
parts. The physical and chemical attributes of the lint and sugars that
are correlated with stickiness have been measured in many ways, each
with differing efficiency and precision.

Some of the measurement methods given below:

• Reducing sugar method

• High performance liquid chromatography
• Minicard method
• Sticky cotton thermo detector
• High speed stickiness detector
• Fiber contamination tester
Solutions to Eradicate Stickiness:

During Cultivation:

The most efficient way now to prevent stickiness is by managing sugar sources in the
field. These honeydew-producing insects may be managed by avoiding conditions
leading to outbreaks, carefully sampling pest populations, and using effective insecticides
when populations reach predetermined thresholds. The risk of having excessive plant
sugars can be minimized by harvesting mature seed cotton.

In Ginning:
If stickiness is a problem while ginning, the ginning rate of honeydew contaminated
cotton can be increased by increasing the heat of the drying towers to reduce humidity.

At the textile mill:

At the textile mill, stickiness may be managed by blending bales and by reducing
humidity during carding. A lubricant in fog form may be introduced at the end of the
hopper conveyor, and card crush rolls may be sprayed sparingly with a lubricant to
minimize sticking.

Conclusion:

Stickiness is a complex, three-component interaction that involves the source sugars,

harvested seed cotton, and processing equipment. Stickiness caused by honeydew
contamination has been reported to cause residue build-up on textile machinery, which
may cause subsequent irregularities or yarn breakage. The complexity of this interaction
indicates the need for an integrated solution that includes prevention, in-field mitigation,
and processing adjustments.
References:

1. Processing Sticky Cotton: Implication of Trehalulose in Residue Build-up by

Eric Hequet and Noureddine Abidi, The Journal of Cotton Science 6:77-90
(2002).

2. Sticky cotton - sources and solutions -- Cooperative Extension IPM Series

No. 13, University of Arizona.

3. Cotton stickiness – A marketing and processing problem by MIAN IFTKHAR

AFZAL in Proceedings of the seminar, July 4-7, 2001, Lille, France.

4. Processing Sticky Cotton: Effect of Stickiness on Yarn

Quality by ERIC F. HEQUET, NOUREDDINE ABIDI1, AND DEAN ETHRIDGE
in Textile Res. J. 75(5), 402–410 (2005) DOI:
10.1177/0040514505053953