Cotton Dust Characterization: A Comparison of Sonically Separated Fine Dust (<20 μm) with Respirable (Vertical Elutriator) Dusts

Based on comparison of properties of the inorganic composition of various cotton dusts, this paper demonstrates that cotton dusts <20 μm in diameter separated from card room condenser trash material are very similar chemically to dusts collected in that same environment by a vertical elutriator cotton dust sampler. A method to estimate the fraction of cotton dust from sources such as cotton leaf and bract, humidifier water solids, soils, and background ambient air is given. Data from dusts obtained from the North Carolina State model card room and dusts reported in the literature are compared. In a study of 24 bales of cotton processed in the Model Card Room, approximately 26% of the elutriator dust was from humidifier water solids, less than 15% from ambient air and soils, and the remainder mostly from cotton bract and leaf.