Experimental study on anti-clogging performance of emitters for reclaimed wastewater irrigation

In order to find out the anti-clogging performance of emitters and effct law of reclaimed wastewater irrigation (RWI) on the flow of drip irrigation, discharge changes of eleven kinds of emitters under reclaimed wastewater irrigation were tested. The result shows that the decreasing range of emitter flux has positive relation with labyrinth path length and labyrinth path sectional area, and the emitters with the function of self-flushing has less flux variety compared with others. In field experiments, emitter flux of reclaimed wastewater treatment decreases significantly compared with groundwater treatment. The enrichment of sediment is the main reason leading to flow attenuation. So emitters with the function of self-flushing, shorter labyrinth path length and smaller labyrinth path sectional area should be selected to prevent emitters clogging. The study can provide evidence for scientific selection and matching of reclaimed wastewater irrigation system.