Processing sticky cotton: Implication of trehalulose in residue build-up

Cottons (Gossypium hirsutum L.) contaminated with stickiness can cause multiple problems in the textile mills. Contaminants originate from physiological sugars coming from the plant itself and/or entomological sugars coming from phloemfeeding insects, specifically the cotton aphid [Aphis gossypii (Glover)] and cotton whitefly [Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)]. During yarn manufacturing, all textile equipment is contaminated with sugar deposits to different degrees, affecting both productivity and yarn quality. We evaluated 17 mixes of moderate stickiness in both ring and rotor spinning. To identify the types of sugars in the sticky deposits collected from the textile machinery, we assayed with high-performance liquid chromatography. Trehalulose (C₁₂H₂₂O₁1) was the dominant sugar in these deposits. It has the lowest melting point, ≈48(C, of the sugars involved in cotton stickiness. Dehydrated trehalulose is highly hygroscopic and absorbs ≈17.5% of water at 65% ± 2% relative humidity and 21°C ± 1°C. The combination of a low melting point and high hygroscopicity leads to higher concentrations of trehalulose in the residues than on the original fibers.