Everyone should be familiar with cotton, but you certainly don’t know everything that cotton is made into.
When it comes to the uses of cotton, many people will at least say “Textile raw materials“ etc. Several common uses. However, as the saying goes “Cotton is a treasure all over the body ” It has more than one or two uses. Today we will take a cotton plant as an example and talk to you about its uses. A bumper cotton harvest
1. TextileCotton is the most well-known textile raw material as One of the uses. Cotton fiber can be made into fabrics of many different specifications. Using these fabrics, we can make clothes, furniture fabrics, industrial fabrics, etc. Clothes and fabrics made of cotton are strong and wear-resistant, can be washed repeatedly and ironed at high temperatures, and have good drying properties, such as jeans.
Many of our daily clothes, such as jeans, are made of cotton.
However, there is one point to be emphasized here. The white cotton picked by cotton farmers is not cotton“花“. The white cotton we are familiar with is actually the white fluff that grows on the skin of cotton seeds, wrapping When cottonseed bolls mature, they split open and the white fibers pour out, becoming the cotton we are familiar with. Cotton bolls are the fruits left after the cotton flowers wither. This is the flower of cotton
2. Edible oils and industrial lubricantsWhen cotton farmers pick cotton, they will pick the cotton fibers along with the cotton seeds. Seed cotton is called seed cotton. Then the cotton fibers and cotton seeds are separated through processes such as ginning.
Through ginning and other processes, the cotton seeds and cotton fibers of seed cotton are separated
The isolated cotton seeds are of great use. The oil content of cottonseed kernels is as high as 35% to 46%, and the protein content is as high as 30%To35%, cottonseed oil can be produced, or industrial lubricants and used as fuel. Cottonseed oil is an important vegetable oil and vegetable butter raw material
Cottonseed oil can be used to make edible oil. After hydrogenation, it can also be used to make ghee and margarine. The cottonseed cake after extracting and detoxifying the oil can also be used as feed for poultry and livestock. Raw materials for the food industry.
3. Making banknotes or gunpowderMany people may have heard of the banknotes of many countries, including the banknotes we use. In fact, they are all printed on paper made of cotton. But here we have to continue with the previous ginning. Cotton linters
The cotton seeds separated by ginning actually do not have a smooth surface. They are still wrapped with some residual cotton short fibers. After further separation, cotton linters can be obtained. A type of lint with a length of 12-16mm is used to produce banknote paper or high-grade coated paper. The paper produced is smooth, stiff and wear-resistant. This type of lint is It can also be used to produce cotton blankets, fleece jackets and other textiles. Many countries’ banknotes use paper made of cotton as raw material
What can be used to produce smokeless gunpowder or solid fuel components to propel rockets is 3-12mm type II linters, which can be made into Nitrocellulose for the manufacture of gunpowder and solid fuels. Nitrocellulose
Below 3mm is the third type of short velvet, which can be used to produce viscose fiber and acetate fiber.
4. Growing mushrooms, making alcohol, etc. The cottonseed shells after pressing the oil are not useless. Cottonseed husks are a natural medium for cultivating a variety of fungi. Many common edible mushrooms are grown using cottonseed husks. Mushrooms grown in cottonseed shells
After deep processing, cottonseed hulls can also produce furfural, acetone, alcohol, glycerin, plant hormones and other products.
5. Decorative materials and packaging materialsAfter picking cotton, the cotton stalks everywhere are not useless. Of course the purpose is not to burn it as firewood. Instead, it can continue to be used as raw materials for manufacturing fiberboards and veneers for decoration, kraft cartons for express delivery, etc. One of your express delivery may have a contribution from cotton
6. Medicinal value and medical useCotton swabs, �Needless to say, the important role of cotton balls and cotton yarn in medical care is unnecessary. Here we mainly talk about cottonseed kernel extract, gossypol, also called gossypol, etc.
This is a compound extracted from cottonseed kernels. It is light yellow, toxic, and can be used as a fungicide or insecticide. Gossypol can be used to produce drugs with immunosuppressive and antiviral effects, and can be used to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of certain cancers. Gossypol has certain anti-tumor effects and can be used as a male contraceptive.
Gossypol and some of its derivatives are also effective oxidation inhibitors for petroleum and rubber products, psoralen, vitamin A and other products. In addition, gossypol was once used as a male contraceptive in China. It makes a person temporarily infertile by inhibiting the movement and work of sperm. Fertility can be restored by discontinuing use; sperm production returns to normal within two to three months.
7. Important nectar sourcesCotton is divided into leaf veins, bracts and flowers3Nectary glands, often before flowering The vein nectaries secrete honey first. It has a long flowering period and a large planting area across the country. Especially in recent years, the promotion of biological control technology has reduced the use of pesticides, and cotton has become an important nectar source for bees to collect nectar in summer and autumn. Some of the sweetness in the foods you eat may come from cotton nectar. Cotton is an important nectar plant
Of course, the uses of cotton are definitely not limited to the ones listed above. There are many other uses that are not mentioned in this article. You are welcome to add.
Even if you pick a few branches of snow-white cotton and put it in a vase, it will be pleasing to the eye every day.
Cotton is beautiful and we all love it.
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