Distribution uniformity in drip units applying dilutions of treated water produced by oil exploration

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the uniformity of distribution in drip units applying dilutions of treated water produced by oil exploration. The experiment was set up in a completely randomized design in a split-split-plot scheme, with three replicates. The plots were composed of the treatments P0 - 100% groundwater, control; P10 - 90% groundwater and 10% produced water; P20 - 80% groundwater and 20% produced water; P30 - 70% groundwater and 30% produced water; and P40 - 60% groundwater and 40% produced water; the subplots had the types of non-pressure compensating drippers (D1 - 1.6 L h-1, Netafim Super Typhoon, D2 - 1.6 L h-1, Netafim Streamline and D3 - 1.7 L h-1, NaanDanJain TalDrip); and the sub-subplots contained the evaluation times (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 h). Distribution uniformity and statistical uniformity coefficients were evaluated every 40 h, until completing 160 h. The pH of the dilutions was the attribute posing the highest risk of clogging to the emitters. Also in relation to dilutions, P40 caused greater application non-uniformity in D2, while the highest values of application uniformity were achieved in treatments P10 and P20 with D1 and D3, indicating the effectiveness of dilution in minimizing clogging.