Equipment for milkweed floss-fiber recovery,☆☆

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Abstract

The floss-fiber of milkweed (Asclepias syriaca and Asclepias speciosa) is being commercialized for use as a loose fill insulation. Successful production of milkweed floss-fiber requires a reliable and economic system for harvesting, handling, drying and processing the floss-fiber. A system consisting of a pod harvester, a pod conditioner, two drying stages and a spike tooth cylinder processor is discussed. Most of the equipment units are commonly available, but require modification to meet the special operational requirements of milkweed production. This prototype system has seen limited use and quantification of performance and system refinement await cultural developments in order to produce milkweed on a commercial scale. The harvest rate is 0.4–0.5 ha/h and 90% of the pods were harvested. The pod conditioner opened 95% of the pod sutures. The drying process removed 50% of the moisture in the pod within 4 h during the first drying stage, and further dried the pods to 10% moisture content in 48–60 h in the second stage of drying. The floss processor recovered 60% of the floss with the centrifugal separator prior to spike-tooth cylinder processing.

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There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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    2007, Industrial Crops and Products
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Names of companies and products are used solely to provide specific information and do not imply endorsement or preferential treatment by the University of Nebraska.

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This manuscript has been assigned Journal Series Number 9989, Agricultural Research Division, University of Nebraska.

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