Energy Reduction and Uniformity of Low-Pressure Online Drip Irrigation Emitters in Field Tests

Water

Samer Talozi¹  AmosG. Winter²  Elizabeth Brownell²  Julia Sokol²  Susan Amrose²  Rachid Moussadek³  Lhassane Sikaoui³  Bassou Bouazzama³  Abdeljabar Bahri³  Abdelaziz Bouizgaren³  Vinay Nangia⁴  Gianni Montanaro⁴  Khalil Bany Mustafa⁵  Khaled Abu Naser⁵  Naem Mazahrih⁶ 

[1] Civil Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan;Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA;Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Rabat 10090, Morocco;International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Rabat 10100, Morocco;Methods for Irrigation and Agriculture, Amman 11194, Jordan;National Agricultural Research Center, Amman 19381, Jordan;

关键词: drip irrigation;    drip emitter;    hydraulic energy;    uniformity;    treated wastewater;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w11061195

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

A promising way of addressing the issue of growing water scarcity is through wider use of drip irrigation, which delivers water and fertilizer to crops in a slow, targeted manner, and has been shown to increase yields and water use efficiency. Yet, drip irrigation system adoption is low, primarily due to the high capital cost of the pressurized piping network and the pump, and operating energy cost. Lowering the water pressure needed for drip emitters to deliver water can reduce both capital and operating costs of drip systems. Here we present the results from field trials of new pressure-compensating online drip emitters that operate with a minimum compensating inlet pressure of 15 kPa (0.15 bar), in comparison to typical commercial emitters with minimum pressures of 50−100 kPa (0.5−1.0 bar). The field trials were carried out on nine farms in Morocco and Jordan over the course of one irrigation season with freshwater and treated wastewater. Low-pressure emitters are shown to reduce hydraulic energy per unit volume of water delivered by 43% on average compared to commercial emitters, without significantly sacrificing water emission uniformity (low-pressure emitters show uniformities of 81−91%, compared to 87−96% for commercial emitters). This energy reduction could lead to savings of 22−31% in the capital cost of a pump and emitters and the energy cost for a typical drip irrigation system. Thus, the low-pressure online emitters can be used as substitutes to commercial emitters that require higher water pressures, leading to reduced environmental impact and lower system costs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown