Application of biological effluent

This chapter discusses a specialized application of microirrigation systems, namely, the use of biological effluent for crop production. The term “biological effluent” refers to wastewater that contains impurities derived from biological sources. Typical sources include human and animal metabolic waste and domestic and industrial food processing waste. Effluents from these sources contain organic and inorganic matter, in contrast to freshwater (FW), which contains primarily inorganic matter of riparian origin. The application of the effluent back onto the grain-producing lands has conserved FW resources and reduced some fertilizer applications. Commonly, livestock wastewater is applied with sprinkler or surface irrigation systems. Subsurface drip irrigation is a new technology for livestock wastewater applications. This chapter considers biological effluent to be a resource. Consequently, the approach is to emphasize the efficient use of the resource rather than the disposal of a waste product. Traditionally, most effluents have been applied by sprinkler or surface irrigation systems. However, continued advances in microirrigation system design, management, monitoring, and especially in water treatment have expanded the use of biological effluent through microirrigation systems. Even though effluents contain many types of materials that can readily clog emitters, the advantages strongly favor the use of such effluents for agricultural irrigation. © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.