Eight emitters clogging characteristics and its suitability under on-site reclaimed water drip irrigation

Abstract

Drip irrigation is the most effective and reliable method for reclaimed water irrigation. The water usually contains a lot of suspended particles, metal salt ions, organisms and microbial communities, which will enhance the possibility of emitter clogging or more complex clogging mechanism. Emitter clogging has become one of  the key problems to the application and popularization of the drip irrigation technology. In this paper, we selected four kinds of pressure-compensating emitters and four kinds of non-pressure-compensating emitters, and executed the experiment of drip irrigation with on-site reclaimed water treated with cyclic activated sludge system (CASS). The emitter discharge ratio variation (Dra), coefficient of uniformity (CU) and clogging rate distribution were analyzed to evaluate the emitter clogging characteristics after eliminating the effect of temperature and pressure on the emitter outflow by data correction. The results showed that Dra and CU varied in three periods as system operation. The beginning of experiment was the fluctuated balance period, Dra and CU recurrent fluctuated in 5 %, and the emitters clogged at some spots after the system run 36–48 h. Then the two parameters varied linearly in 60–108 h, tuning into the initiate linear period, as the non-pressure-compensating emitters got an obvious linear change than the pressure-compensating ones with the gradient changed from −0.094 to 0.042 and −0.073 to 0.047, respectively. Some of the emitters have a significant difference on these two parameters at this stage. After the restarting in the second year, Dra and CU decreased sharply. The maximum decrement was, respectively, 9.6 and 10.7 %. Then they varied in line with a greater slope degree as all emitters reached the significant level, the gradient ranges were −0.176 to 0.115 and −0.216 to 0.117, respectively. This stage was called the accelerated linear period. Seriously clogged and completely clogged emitters appeared, and both Dra and CU dropped down to 38.7 and 41.5 %. Various degrees of clogged emitters often emerged in the end part of lateral at first then propelled to the head gradually, the completely clogged emitters in the end accounted for more than 73.0 % when the system run 540 h. Comprehensively considered, the pressure-compensating emitters and cusp-shaped saw-tooth non-pressure-compensating emitters with short flow path are recommended in reclaimed water drip irrigation. These researches are aimed to provide references explaining the emitter clogging mechanism of reclaimed water drip irrigation as well as its technological application and popularization.