Browsing by Subject "Cotton gins and ginning"
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Item A discretized approach for solving for the optimal capacity and profit maximization level for a biomass refinery given supplemental sources of fuel(2012-05) Walker, Michael L.; Farmer, Michael; Knight, Thomas; Benson, Aaron G.; Burns, James R.The feasibility of a cotton gin that produces bio-fuels is explored. By utilizing cotton gin trash and supplemental feedstock such as rangeland grass, enough megawatt hours of energy can be produced to satisfy peak and sub-peak energy for power plan requirements. Furthermore, findings have confirmed that the amount of carbon displaced by a power plant relying on biomass energy as source of electricity rather than traditional coal is an additional offset that makes the business model even more appealing. For reasons stemming mainly from the availability of cotton gin trash in the Lubbock area, it has been confirmed that use of biomass already on site at agri-forestry processing centers to manufacture bio-products will also minimize transportation and handling costs. Therefore, at the core of this study is the determination of whether an operator of a power plant chooses to import supplemental biomass in the form of rangeland grass for the production of electricity when there is insufficient cotton gin waste due to a bad season. The decision is based on whether the profits derived from the additional megawatt hours from additional biomass are enough to offset the transportation and harvest costs associated with the imported biomass. A profit maximization model simulating the production and sale of biomass electricity suggests that while lowering the transportation and harvest costs through subsidies does influence an operator’s decision to import, it has a negligible effect on the plant capacity and efficiency. Furthermore, findings in this study suggest that a subsidy applied to the peak and sub-peak prices of megawatt hour prices do in fact have a substantial affect on the capacity and profitability of a plant producing electricity from biomass.Item A study of [the] cotton gin and its operation(Texas Tech University, 1950-01) Young, Jim Chien-ShengNot availableItem Item Analysis of cotton gin buildings in the South Plains region(Texas Tech University, 1999-08) Hainze, Michelle S. G. C.Cotton gin structures are tha dominant, rural architectural building form in tha South Plains region. Historic research methods were employed to document and analyze of these structures before they disappear. Defining features and elements that enable recognition of types and styles of these buildings have been documented in a "Visual Vocabulary."Item Analysis of cotton gin buildings in the south plains region(1999-08) Hainze, Michelle S. G. C.Cotton gin structures are the dominant, rural architectural building form in the South Plains region. Historic research methods were employed to document and analyze of these structures before they disappear. Defining features and elements that enable recognition of types and styles of these buildings have been documented in a "Visual Vocabulary."Item Analysis of cotton gin buildings in the South Plains region(Texas Tech University, 1999-08) Hainze, Michelle S. G. C.Cotton gin structures are the dominant, rural architectural building form in the South Plains region. Historic research methods were employed to document and analyze of these structures before they disappear. Defining features and elements that enable recognition of types and styles of these buildings have been documented in a ''Visual Vocabulary."Item Characteristics and efficiency of Texas cotton gins(Texas Tech University, 1970-12) Justice, James ENot availableItem Evaluation of a fluorescent dust tracer technique in cotton ginning(Texas Tech University, 1977-05) Rowlett, Carl DavidNot availableItem Noise levels and operating characteristics of gin stand doffing brushes/(Texas Tech University, 1976-08) Laird, Joseph Weldon; Grub, WalterNot availableItem Optimization of fiber quality, production rate, and lint turnout for the powered roll gin stand utilizing response surface methodology and desirability functions(Texas Tech University, 2004-12) Holt, Gregory AlanThe power roll gin stand is a new saw gin technology developed at the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service's cotton ginning laboratory in Lubbock, Texas. The technology was initially developed to regin cottonseed to solve processing problems with a cottonseed coating process (Easiflo™). Evaluation of the fiber properties from reginning the cottonseed indicated the potential for this technology to be utilized for ginning seed cotton. Since then, numerous studies have been conducted evaluating the power roll gin stand's potential for ginning seed cotton. Past results have shown increased production and lint turnout without adversely affecting fiber properties and in some cases improvements in fiber properties over conventional gin stands were demonstrated. However, a majority of the initial studies were conducted at operational settings that were optimal when reginning cottonseed and not seed cotton. The power roll gin stand consists of three main components: paddle roll, saw, and seed finger roll. The operational settings of speed and/or loading rate at which these components operate influence fiber properties and/or processing rate, items which are important to either the producer, cotton gin management, and/or textile mills. This dissertation reports on two studies, on different makes of gin stands, to optimize the power roll gin stand's operational components for optimal production rate, lint turnout, and fiber properties in the ginning of seed cotton. The optimizations were performed using response surface methodology and desirability functions. Since the power roll gin stand is a new technology, understanding how the various components of the gin stand can be manipulated to enhance operational performance while preserving fiber properties is paramount to successful implementation of this technology in the cotton ginning industry. The first study consisted of a prototype Lummus-116 gin stand located at the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Services gin lab in Lubbock, Texas. The second gin stand was installed in a commercial cotton gin and operated during the 2003 ginning season in Courtland, Alabama. Results from the studies produced several optimal solutions depending on the response variables evaluated and the weighting factors used in the desirability functions. Once the optimization studies were completed, validation and comparison studies were conducted. Validation studies evaluated the results obtained from the optimization studies while the comparison tests were performed versus conventional gin stands to see if the optimized gin stand performed to expectations. Results from these studies indicated some improvements over conventional gin stands in fiber properties, lint turnout, and/or processing rate. Overall, the power roll gin stand has demonstrated the potential for improvements in processing rate, lint turnout, and preserving fiber properties. Likewise, the power roll gin stand has the potential to be utilized in real-time process control applications where the gin stand is dynamically adjusted to produce optimum fiber properties based on the quality of the seed cotton being ginned. Being able to dynamically adjust the gin stand while ginning seed cotton allows the possibility of "prescription ginning" at the very heart of the cotton gin, the gin stand.Item Optimum organization of the cotton ginning industry in the Texas Southern High Plains(Texas Tech University, 1997-05) McPeek, Brent D.The dynamic nature of technology and cost adjustments in the Texas Southern High Plains cotton ginning mdustry has made the issue of organizational structure important to farmers, gin managers, and mdustry professionals. The primary objective of this research was to determine the least cost structure of the ginning mdustry m the Texas Southem High Plains while allowing for that amount of excess capacity that is inherent m a monopolistically competitive market structiwe. The methods employed to accomplish this objective mvolved both survey techniques and spatial optimality analysis. A survey of all gins located m the Southem High Plauis of Texas was conducted to develop estimates of the current costs and the processing capacity in the cotton ginning industry. The current annual total cost of ginning and transportation was estimated at $104.41 million; $94.36 million for ginning costs and $10.05 milUon for total transportation costs. The gining industry in the Texas Southem High Plains was foimd to be operatmg with an excess capacity of 1.04 million bales per season, which translates to approximately a 34% excess capacity. A non-linear programming spatial optimization model was used to determine the optimum size, number, and location of gins in the Texas Southern High Plains ginnmg industry. A predetermmed level of excess capacity was imposed on the gins in the model to account for the monopolistically competitive characterization of the market structure. The optimal solution consisted of a total of 61 guis for the study area, considerably less than that of the existing structure with 127 gms. The annual total cost of ginning and transportation for the optimal structure was estimated at $90.19 million. These results indicated that a cost savings of approximately $15 million per year could be realized if the Texas Southem High Plains cotton ginning industry was optimally organized. The study concludes that the Texas Southem High Plains ginning industry should experience a movement from small and medium sized gins to larger and more efficient gins m the future. It is expected that many of the smaller gms will eventually become inactive and that there will be fewer but larger gins in the region. The industry will, however, still require a number of small gins to serve those areas with low cotton production.Item Pollution control for cotton gin effluents(Texas Tech University, 1971-08) Page, Gordon C.Not availableItem The influence of cotton fiber properties on the effectiveness of lint cleaning in ginning(Texas Tech University, 1986-05) Dever, Jane G. K.Not available