The Fiber Analysis and Textile Processing research program is committed to excel in fiber and textile research, including testing and evaluation of cotton properties at the physical, structural and molecular levels; the relationships among fiber properties, processing performance, and textile product quality; measurement technology for fibers, yarns and fabrics; textile processing systems; dyeing and finishing; and specialty fabric treatments for enhanced protection and comfort. Accomplishments/impacts made possible by funding from the Legislative Appropriations Request include:
Technology to Measure Fabric Quality. Developed an instrument for rapid measurement of fabric smoothness (i.e., degree of wrinkling), stain release and fabric shrinkage. The manufacture and sale of these instruments could generate $5-$10 million annually in economic activity, while the savings in testing costs and contractual disputes could amount to $10-$20 million annually.
Method for Measuring Finenes and Maturity. Developed a reference method for measuring the fineness and maturity of cotton fibers and established an inventory of 104 reference cottons for use in validation and calibration of high-speed instruments developed to measure these fiber properties. Achieving fast, reliable measurements of fiber fineness and maturity would revolutionize the marketing of cotton, which would foster the development of cotton varieties with superior processing performance. A system that simultaneously measures fiber length and maturity is currently being developed. These developments would greatly improve the competitiveness of cotton with other textile fibers, and the competitiveness of production regions that could provide the information to the market. The additional revenue to the Texas cotton crop would likely be $75-$150 million annually.
Evaluating Fiber Properties of New Cotton Genotypes. The program has become the primary U.S. resource for evaluating fiber properties of new cotton genotypes developed through breeding and biotechnology, making the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute an integral part of the value chain of a multi-billion dollar cottonseed industry. It has expanded existing materials evaluation capabilities to include a Fiber and Biopolymer Research Laboratory, making the Institute a vital participant in a $1.94 million grant on cotton genomics from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
Texas Cotton for Higher-Valued Textile Products. Demonstrated through comparative tests of spinning performance and yarn quality that a significant portion of cottons produced on the Texas Plains compares favorably with cotton grown throughout the U.S. for ring-spun yarns used to manufacture the higher-valued textile products. This has fostered sales of Texas cottons into markets making ring-spun yarns and has caused price discounts to narrow by about 3 cents per pound relative to the historical average, which implies increased revenues on the 2007-08 crop of about $150 million.
Imparting New Properties to Cotton Fabrics. Researchers have applied plasma, sol-gel, and molecular vapor deposition technologies for imparting specialty performance characteristics to fabrics made with cotton. These technologies enable superior specialty performance with minimal modification of the desirable natural properties of cotton. Characteristics imparted included UV protection, water repellency, and protection from bacterial infections. These technologies offer the potential to provide both superior fabric performance and greatly reduced effluents from the treatment processes. Their application to cotton textiles is a necessary condition for competing with non-cotton alternatives for special-purpose textiles, such as in medical, recreational and institutional applications. Each of these represents multibillion dollar markets that could constitute new and expanded demand sources for cotton.