Rieter

Acclimatization of the raw material

Index

Air temperature in the blowroom should be above 23°C and relative humidity should be in the 45 - 50% range. Damp air makes for poor cleaning and over-dry air leads to fiber damage. It should be borne in mind, however, that it is not the condition of the air that matters, but that of the fibers. It is assumed, however, that the fibers adapt to the air conditions.

To enable this to happen, the fibers must be exposed to the air for an appropriate period. This is not achieved if cotton or, what is even worse, man-made fibers, are taken from the cold raw material store and processed as soon as they have been laid on the extraction floor. Cotton bales should be left to stand in the blowroom in an opened condition for at least 24 hours before extraction starts, better still for 48 hours. Synthetic fiber bales should be left to stand for 24 hours longer than cotton bales, but in an unopened condition. This allows the bales to warm up. Otherwise, condensation will form on the surfaces of the cold fibers. Further adjustment to the air conditioning occurs within the pneumatic transport devices. In such devices, the relatively small tufts are continually subjected to the air current in the transport ducts.