Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Associate Professor, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Alborz, Iran
2 Water Management and Engineering Department, Collage of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Keywords
Main Subjects
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Clogging of emitters in drip irrigation systems implemented in the country is the biggest challenge facing these systems, which sometimes prevents their development in certain areas. If this problem is not managed effectively, it will significantly reduce the useful life of the irrigation systems. Complete or partial clogging decreases the uniformity of distribution, the average output flow rate of the emitters, and ultimately the irrigation efficiency. As a result, it increases the volume of water required for plant growth, leading to waste of water, energy costs, and fertilizer runoff. Additionally, the need for drainage becomes more critical, undermining the confidence of farmers. Therefore, all factors contributing to the clogging of emitters should be identified and minimized by implementing appropriate purification methods and chemical modifications of water. In the present study, solutions to reduce chemical clogging of emitters based on acid-washing methods and ultrasonic systems are presented. The ultrasonic system is a type of green technology and serves as a suggestion for reducing the clogging of emitters in drip irrigation systems.
First, the farms located in Alborz Province that faced problems with emitters were selected. After investigation, their emitters were replaced due to clogging and lack of necessary efficiency. To select emitter samples, a crop plot was chosen from the farm, and emitter samples were selected based on the ASAE standard. In this regard, the sample of emitters was first determined in the selected fields, and then the emitters were grouped by measuring their water yield. According to the measured water compared to the nominal flow, the emitters were divided into five categories in terms of clogging: 100% clogging, 75-100% clogging, 50-75% clogging, 25-50% clogging, and 0-25% clogging. Four treatments were applied for each category: acid washing at pH=3, acid washing at pH=5, washing emitters in an ultrasonic bath, and washing emitters using the ultrasonic-acid washing method.
The rate of reduction in clogging of class 1 emitters when placed in an ultrasonic bath for 15 minutes is about 40%. In the results for the ultrasonic bath of the second category, the reduction in emitter clogging is about 26%, which is less than that of the other two categories. The results for the ultrasonic bath in this category indicate that the droplet clogging rate was very low compared to the previous categories. Ultrasonic washing did not have a positive effect in this category, where the emitters had slight clogging, and it caused a decrease in the average water yield of the emitters. Comparing the ultrasonic results across different classifications shows that the reduction rate for emitters with clogging above 50% was significant. The comparison of the results from the simultaneous application of ultrasonic washing and acid washing across different categories demonstrated that the reduction of clogging in emitters is much more effective when clogging is above 50%. The higher the clogging, the greater the reduction observed. When using the ultrasonic bath, a significant decrease in clogging (about 45%) was achieved, which is important for two reasons. First, the duration of acid washing is considered to be one hour, whereas the ultrasonic bath took only 15 minutes. Second, no chemicals are used in ultrasonic washing, thereby protecting the environment and plant roots from chemical damage, which further supports the effectiveness of the ultrasonic bath method. In category one, a nearly identical behavioral similarity of the treatments in this category with those in category zero can be observed.
The comparison of the results shows that for clogging above 50%, ultrasonic washing is more effective across different categories and significantly reduces the clogging of emitters. In general, the results from the three washing models in the case study indicated that the clogging of emitters was a combination of physical and chemical clogging. Acid washing, ultrasonic washing, and the simultaneous use of acid washing and ultrasonic washing were all more effective for clogging levels above 50%. Comparing the amount of clogging reduction achieved after using the acid washing and ultrasonic methods demonstrates the significant superiority of the ultrasonic method over acid washing, primarily due to the higher percentage of physical clogging in the emitters compared to chemical clogging.
Conceptualization, H. Dehghanisanij. and S.M. Mirlatifi.; methodology, H. Dehghanisanij. and S.M. Mirlatifi.; software, H. Dehghanisanij. and T. Rajabzadeh.; validation, H. Dehghanisanij. and S.M. Mirlatifi. and T. Rajabzadeh.; formal analysis, H. Dehghanisanij.; investigation, S.M. Mirlatifi.; resources, H. Dehghanisanij.; data curation, H. Dehghanisanij; writing—original draft preparation, H. Dehghanisanij. and T. Rajabzadeh; writing—review and editing, H. Dehghanisanij. and S.M. Mirlatifi.; visualization, H. Dehghanisanij. and S.M. Mirlatifi; supervision, H. Dehghanisanij; project administration, H. Dehghanisanij; funding acquisition, H. Dehghanisanij. and S.M. Mirlatifi. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Data will be made available on request.
The present study was carried out with the financial support of the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) (project No. 96009938).
The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) (project No. 96009938). The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.
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