The impact of using produced water for plant irrigation and its effects on plants and soil characteristics

Abstract

In this study, locally produced water was physically and chemically characterized. The results showed high concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride, sodium, boron ions and sodium adsorption ratio as 300, 122, 61, 0.038 g/L and 139.9 meq/L respectively. The generated water was used after different dilution:0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% for plant irrigation in greenhouse for Medicago sativa, Zea mays, Helianthus annus, Sorghum bicolor, Phramites australis and Salsola baryosma using a complete randomized design with three replications. The results showed that all plants could not survive except Medicago sativa which tolerated up to 10% produced water with a decrease in intensity, length and biomass. Salsola baryosma tolerated up to20% produced water without any significance differences on the morphological characteristics. The FTIR results for Salsola tissues showed that cellulose structure has the great role in metals adsorption and transportation inside the plant tissue through the shifting or disappearance in transmission bands at 1028, 1334, 2852 and 2921 cm-1. The soil used in this study was sandy loam which showed a huge accumulation of sodium ions with increase in salinity and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). The organic contents of produced water were below detection limits of gas chromatography (GC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) instruments after dilutions at different levels. The results of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) extraction showed accumulation of less polar PAHs in 30% irrigated soil.