Water quality and daily temperature cycle affect biofilm formation in drip irrigation devices revealed by optical coherence tomography Jueying Qian Harald Horn Jorge Tarchitzky Yona Chen Sagi Katz Michael Wagner 10.6084/m9.figshare.4732990.v1 https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/media/Water_quality_and_daily_temperature_cycle_affect_biofilm_formation_in_drip_irrigation_devices_revealed_by_optical_coherence_tomography/4732990 <p>Drip irrigation is a water-saving technology. To date, little is known about how biofilm forms in drippers of irrigation systems. In this study, the internal dripper geometry was recreated in 3-D printed microfluidic devices (MFDs). To mimic the temperature conditions in (semi-) arid areas, experiments were conducted in a temperature controlled box between 20 and 50°C. MFDs were either fed with two different treated wastewater (TWW) or synthetic wastewater. Biofilm formation was monitored non-invasively and <i>in situ</i> by optical coherence tomography (OCT). 3-D OCT datasets reveal the major fouling position and illustrate that biofilm development was influenced by fluid dynamics. Biofilm volumetric coverage of the labyrinth up to 60% did not reduce the discharge rate, whereas a further increase to 80% reduced the discharge rate by 50%. Moreover, the biofilm formation rate was significantly inhibited in daily temperature cycle independent of the cultivation medium used.</p> 2017-03-08 08:33:17 Drip irrigation biofilm formation optical coherence tomography microfluidic devices daily temperature cycle