Abstract
In this study a hydrocyclone filter of 20 cm was selected and its performance was evaluated by studying the variation of discharge, pressure drop, influent concentration, and filtration efficiency with elapsed time of operation. The filter was tested with clean water to determine clean pressure drop and later it was tested with four concentrations of solid suspension, viz. 300; 600; 900 and 1,200 mg L-1. In the concentration of 300 mg L-1, the variation of pressure drop was low. But for the other concentrations of solid suspension, the variation was significant. The maximum pressure drops obtained were 41.19, 45.11, 50.01 and 52.95 kPa at 350, 390, 280 and 190 minutes of elapsed time, respectively. The maximum efficiency of solid suspension was 30.3, 32.96, 43.89 and 52.5% where as the minimum efficiencies were 9.91, 9.93, 9.62 and 9.9%, respectively. The hydrociclone tested presented inefficiency to filter small particles as clay. The initial removal efficiency of higher concentration was bigger than for lower concentration but, the final efficiency are almost the same irrespective of the concentration of solid suspension. The present tested hydrocyclone could be used as a pre-filter microirrigation to prevent emitter clogging.
Highlights
The success of microirrigation depends on the ability of the system to prevent emitter clogging
A properly designed microirrigation system must have provisions to prevent emitter clogging. These provisions may include water quality analysis to identify the severity of the clogging problem, physical control of water by a filtration system and aeration/settling ponds, chemical treatment and biological control of irrigation water
The variation of clean pressure drop with the flow rate is given in the Figure 3
Summary
The success of microirrigation depends on the ability of the system to prevent emitter clogging. A properly designed microirrigation system must have provisions to prevent emitter clogging These provisions may include water quality analysis to identify the severity of the clogging problem, physical control of water by a filtration system and aeration/settling ponds, chemical treatment and biological control of irrigation water. The particles larger than about 1/10th of the size of the emitter orifice or flow passage should be removed using a proper filtration system to prevent particles from jamming. Without their removal, materials will settle out and deposit as sediments where the water velocity is low and causes emitter plugging (SCHWANKL et al, 1996)
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