Sustainable operation mode of a sand filter in a drip irrigation system using Yellow River water in an arid area

The depletion of water resources directly restricts the sustainable development of agriculture, especially in arid areas. Sand filters are one of the most widely used filters in agricultural water-saving drip irrigation systems, because of their effectiveness in intercepting sewage. Up to now, little information has been reported on the sustainable operation mode of the sand filter in a drip irrigation system using Yellow River water, which is a non-conventional water resource. In our research, based on the study of the change in head loss of the empty tank of the filter using fresh water, we studied the effect of different filter particle sizes, filtration flow rates and backwash flow rates on the filter performance using Yellow River water, and obtained the optimal operation mode of the sand filter for the drip irrigation system. This was achieved when the filter material particle size was 1.70–2.35 mm, the filtration flow rate was 0.018 m/s, and the backwash flow rate was 0.022 m/s. This study provided theoretical support for the large-scale promotion of drip irrigation using Yellow River water, and contributed to maintaining rural, social and economic stability within sustainable development.