Impacts of surfactant-based adjuvants on spray droplet size, drift distance, and deposition efficiency

Changwei Gong, Yue Liu, Yu Ma, Qiulin Wang, Zhengze Xu, Xuegui Wang, Xiaoxu Zhan, Litao Shen

Abstract


The application of anti-drift nozzles, such as air-induction nozzles, is the most common recommendation for reducing spray drift; To reduce the risk of coarse droplets bouncing and rolling produced by anti-drift nozzles, various types of adjuvants were screened by comparing their atomization performance, surface tension and contact angle, in order to identify favourable adjuvants that are compatible with anti-drift nozzles. It was found from the study results that the addition of 50% neem crude oil emulsifiable concentrate (neem oil), isomeric alcohol ethoxylates and BYK-405 all significantly decreased distribution span (S) and the percentage of droplet size less than 150 μm (ΦVol<150μ) values, but significantly promoted the median volume (D50) value. And the surface tension measurement results showed that all tested adjuvants significantly reduced the surface tension, while neem oil, FC4430 and silwetl-77 were observed with a most significant effects; Furthermore, all tested adjuvants except BYK-051N could also significantly decrease the contact angle, and the difference between neem oil, FC4430 and silwetl-77 was significant. Wind tunnel test results clearly demonstrated that the application of IDKA (a combination of air-induction nozzle IDK120-01 and neem oil) substantially decreased the drift deposition amount; In addition, the field experiments revealed that IDKA possessed a significantly improved deposition amount per unit area on canopy or bottom, leading to a more effective deposition. These results suggest that the use of IDK120-01 nozzle and neem oil can effectively reduce spray drift, lessen surface tension and enhance spreading.
Keywords: spray drift, unmanned aerial vehicles, air-induction nozzles, surface tension, contact angle
DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20241703.7410

Citation: Gong C W, Liu Y, Ma Y, Wang Q L, Xu Z Z, Wang X G, et al. Impacts of surfactant-based adjuvants on spray droplet size, drift distance, and deposition efficiency. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2024; 17(3): 50-58.

Keywords


spray drift, unmanned aerial vehicles, air-induction nozzles, surface tension, contact angle

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