Microporous ceramic emitter: A drip irrigation emitter suitable for high-sediment water

• Published in: Journal of water process engineering 2024-11, Vol.67, p.106169, Article 106169
• Main Authors: He, Xuefei, Wu, Pute, Zhang, Lin, Wei, Yiqian, Liu, Xufei, Yang, Fuhui, Zhou, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Emitter clogging; Labyrinth channel; Micro-irrigation; Particulate; Sediment
• ISSN: 2214-7144; 2214-7144
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.106169

Affected by the scarcity of water resources in arid regions, high-sediment water has gradually become an essential source of drip irrigation in recent years. However, sediment particles can easily enter the flow channel of drip irrigation emitters, leading to emitter clogging. Therefore, this study proposed a microporous ceramic emitter (CE) with a structure similar to the sediment clogging layer to ensure the safety of the drip irrigation system operation under high sediment concentration. Compared with two types of commonly used plastic labyrinth flow channel emitters, the time-varying flow characteristics and dynamics of sediment layer formation of CE under irrigation with high sediment water were revealed via hydraulic performance tests and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that as the irrigation time increased, the normalized discharge of the CE under high sediment water irrigation first decreased rapidly within 2460 min and then tended to stabilize. A large amount of sediment particles were deposited in the three emitters during irrigation with high-sediment water. However, as the sediment deposition layer was a porous medium with a similar physical structure to microporous ceramics, it eventually led to a gradual increase in Dra and CU treated by CE over time, and the reverse was true for plastic emitters. At the end of the experiment, the Dra and CU of the PD reached 81.71 % and 81.05 %, with the Dra and CU of the ND reaching 78.00 % and 80.15 %, respectively. Meanwhile, CE exhibited an initial decline in Dra and CU from 0 to 828 min, followed by a rise to 96.42 % and 85.21 %. The results of this study can provide important equipment support for the safe and stable application of high-sediment water drip irrigation systems in arid areas. [Display omitted] •Proposing a CE with a structure similar to the sediment clogging layer.•The mechanism of CE in controlling clogging was revealed.•CE can delay emitter clogging in drip irrigation systems.•There is a gradual increase in Dra and CU treated by CE over time.