Biofilm development in micro-irrigation emitters for wastewater reuse

Laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate bioclogging on three types of online emitters using synthetic wastewater filtered at 10 mu m (COD = 200 mg L-1). The three types of emitters were as follows: non-pressure-compensating emitters delivering 2 L h(-1) (NPC2), non-pressure-compensating emitters delivering 4 L h(-1) (NPC4) and pressure-compensating emitters delivering 2.2 L h(-1) (PC). They were plugged on two parallel pipe diameters (16 and 20 mm). Emitter performance was followed by flow rate measurements. The results showed that PC emitters seemed to be more sensitive to clogging than NPC emitters. Biofilm was observed mainly on NPC flow paths and PC membranes; its presence was also confirmed by the assessment of different water quality parameters such as total organic carbon and pH. Experimental results compared with a model designed with computational fluid dynamics Software (ANSYS Fluent(A (R))) showed relations between biofilm development and velocity distribution on NPC flow paths. Finally, pipe diameter also appeared to be a parameter inducing emitter clogging.