ELIMINATION OF SUSPENDED MATERIALS IN IRRIGATION WATER WITH DIFFERENT MEDIA FILTERS.

Suspended materials in irrigation water are very important for the economic life of pressured irrigation systems. This study analyzed the effectiveness of pumice and sand-gravel media in removing suspended solids from irrigation water. Sand-gravel and pumice media passed through 0.05-2 mm and 24 mm sieve openings were used. Raw water with a sediment concentration of 250 mg/L was passed through the media filters under the operating pressure of 100 kPa. For each hour of process time, the discharge velocities measured and the sediment contents determined via the gravimetric method. Total cumulative flow volumes for sand-gravel and pumice media were 12897 L and 14035 L respectively, after the 30 h operating period. The discharge velocities were changed between 47.71 m3/m2/h and 3.22 m3/m2/h for sand-gravel medium, and 49.46 m3/m2/h and 3.44 m3/m2/h for pumice medium. Based on the analyses, we found that the sediment contents and discharge velocities decreased as the total amount of treated water increased in both sand-gravel and pumice media filters. Layers created of small size were more effective than the other layers at removing the solid particles. Based on the amount of the sediment measured of the treated water, it can be said that the sand-gravel medium was more effective than the pumice medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]