ENVIRONMENTAL
                                                                 PROTECTION
                                                                   AGENCV


EPA-600/3-76-026                                                  OALUS'TOCAS

March 1976                                           Ecological

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                 RESEARCH  REPORTING SERIES

Research reports of the Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency,  have been grouped  into five series. These five broad
categories were established to facilitate further development and application of
environmental technology. Elimination of traditional grouping was consciously
planned to foster technology transfer and a maximum interface in related fields.
The five series are:

     1.    Environmental Health Effects Research
     2.    Environmental Protection Technology
     3.    Ecological Research
     4.    Environmental Monitoring
     5.    Socioeconomic Environmental Studies

This report has been assigned to the ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH series. This series
describes research  on the effects of pollution on humans, plant  and animal
species, and materials. Problems are assessed for their long- and short-term
influences. Investigations include formation, transport, and pathway studies to
determine the fate of pollutants and their effects. This work provides the technical
basis for setting standards to minimize undesirable changes in living organisms
in the aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments.
This document is available to the public through the National Technical Informa-
tion Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161.

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                                              EPA-600/3-76-026
                                              March  1976
DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR AGRICULTURAL SOIL WARMING

         SYSTEMS UTILIZING WASTE HEAT
                      by
                David L.  Slegel
  Assessment and Criteria Development Division
  Con/all is Environmental  Research Laboratory
           CorvaTMs, Oregon  97330
      U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
      OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
  CORVALLIS ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
           CORVALLIS,  OREGON  97330

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                         DISCLAIMER

This report has been reviewed by the Corvallis Environmental Research
Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for
publication.  Mention of trade names or commercial products does not
constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
                                 n

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                      TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sections                                               Page

I         Introduction                                   1
II        Conclusions                                    3
III       The Soil Warming System                        4
IV        Results                                       11
V         References                                    29

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                       LIST OF FIGURES

No.                                                    Page

1    Comparison of Calculated Temperature (°C) With      6
     Experimental Values From Sepaskhah (1974).
     Comparison of Calculated Moisture Content
     (cm3/cm3) With Ex|
     Sepaskhah (1974).
   3   3
(cm /cm )  With Experimental  Values  From
3    Temperature Distributions (°C) for Various          8
     Irrigation Methods.   The Simulations are for
     Average August Weather Data From Portland, OR.
     and for a Pipe Temperature of 41°C.

4    Mositure Content Distributions (cm /cm ) for        9
     Various Irrigation Methods.  The Simulations
     are for Average August Weather Data From Portland,
     OR. and for a Pipe Temperature of 41°C.

5    Temperature and Moisture Content Distributions     12
     for a Pipe Spacing of 140 cm and a Pipe Depth of
     100 cm and Average Monthly Weather Data and
     Condenser Discharge Temperature for Portland, OR.
     in August.  Simulation is for 31 Days of Operation.

6    Moisture Content Distribution for a Pipe Spacing   13
     of 280 cm and a Pipe Depth of 50 cm for Average
     Monthly Weather Data and Condenser Discharge
     Temperature for Portland, OR. in January.  The
     Simulation is for 31 Days of Operation.
                                IV

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                  LIST OF FIGURES (cont'd)

No.                                                    Page

7    Isotherms (°C) for a Pipe Spacing of 280 cm         14
     and a Pipe Depth of 50 cm for Average  Monthly
     Weather Data and Condenser Discharge Temper-
     ature (29°C) for Portland, OR.  in January.   The
     Simulation is for 31 Days Operation.

8    Isotherms (°C) for a Pipe Spacing of 280 cm         18
     and Pipe Depth of 50 cm for 72 Days of
     Operation in Portland, OR. in January.

9    Simulated Annual Temperature Variation at           20
     10 cm Depth in Portland, OR., 1970.

10   Simulated Annual Temperature Variation at           21
     20 cm Depth in Portland, OR., 1970.

11   Simulated Annual Temperature Variation at           22
     10 cm Depth in Athens, GA., 1970.

12   Simulated Annual Temperature Variation at 20        23
     cm Depth in Athens, GA., 1970

13   Annual Temperature Variation at 10 cm  Depth         24
     in St. Paul, MM., 1970.

14   Annual Temperature Variation at 20 cm Depth         25
     in St. Paul, MN., 1970.

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                          ABSTRACT

     This work was performed to provide potential  users of soil  warming
systems with some general guidelines for the design of a soil  warming
installation.  Although a detailed design is not included, the general
configuration of such a system is discussed.

     A computer program that solves the equations governing heat and
water transfer in soils was used to simulate the operation of a soil
warming system composed of a series of buried pipes at uniform spacing
and depth carrying warm water.  The results include temperature and
moisture content distributions for various soil warming system pipe
spacings and depths and for varying weather conditions.  Annual  tempera-
ture cycles are presented for Portland, Oregon; Athens, Georgia; and St.
Paul Minnesota; for soil with no heating; and for soil with a contin-
uously operating soil warming system.

     The conclusions include suggested soil warming system pipe spacing,
depth and size.  Recommendations concerning irrigation methods are also
included.
                                 vi

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                          SECTION I

                        INTRODUCTION

     The use of soil warming systems in agriculture appears attractive
for several reasons.  Plant growth rate is increased appreciably by
warming the soil to temperatures in the range of 20 to 32°C (Beall,
1973; Boersma, et al.  1974; Berry and Miller, 1974).  Soil  warming can
extend the growing season, increase the percent of seed germination and
provide frost protection.   For example, tomatoes and cucumbers exhibit
increased growth and earlier ripening when grown in greenhouses main-
tained in the 25-30°C temperature range.  Bush beans cultivated on a
plot with a soil warming system have been double-cropped where only one
crop was possible without the system (Boersma et al., 1974).

     The potential of soil warming systems for frost protection is
limited to foliage near the ground and is probably of little value in
open fields.  Berry and Miller (1974) reported that a greenhouse heated
only by a soil warming system maintained a temperature of 2°C (36°F) at
1 foot above ground, while the temperature 5 feet above the ground in
the greenhouse was -8°C (17°F) and the outside temperature was -21°C (-
5°F).

     Soil warming has been accomplished by burying electrical cables in
the soil to provide heating.  Although this method can provide arbitrary
heating rates to the soil, it is expensive to operate and consumes
electrical energy.  Rykbost (1973) reported energy consumption rates for
a demonstration plot of approximately 2000 to 6000 Kilowatt-hours/day
                                                                  5
for 300 square meters.  This power usage is equivalent to 8.0 x 10  -
2.4 x 10  kw/acre/mo.   At a cost of 3<£/kw-hr., operating expenses would

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range from $24,000 to $72,000 per month per acre.   The expenses of
electrical soil warming in a greenhouse would be somewhat less but still
of the same magnitude as for open fields.   Use of electric power plant
waste heat for soil warming is comparatively inexpensive and uses energy
that would otherwise be wasted.   Closed-cycle condenser cooling water is
particularly attractive because the temperature is usually considerably
higher and more constant than open-cycle flow.  This allows for better
design and greater effectiveness.  Use of power plant condenser cooling
water for soil warming does have the disadvantage that the need for soil
warming is greatest when the condenser cooling water temperature is the
lowest, i.e., in winter.  However, the condenser cooling water will
provide heating throughout the year.

     Installation of a soil heating system requires a large capital
investment and the economic breakpoint depends on achieving the optimal
design, or layout, for the crops to be grown.  Some field performance
data are available, which when incorporated with a mathematical model of
heat and moisture flow (Sepaskhah, 1974) permit examination of the
performance of alternative designs.  This paper examines some alterna-
tives for several climates in the United States.  It is not intended as
a detailed design manual for any one field or location.

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                         SECTION II

                         CONCLUSIONS

     Detailed design of a soil  warming system would include the stated
considerations for a particular soil, climate, and crop.   For the soil
and climates considered in this paper, the recommended design would
include the following suggestions:

     1.   Use a pipe depth of 30-50 cm (13-19 in.)

     2.   Provide irrigation at the heating pipe.

     3.   To avoid corrosion problems, plastic pipe (polyurethane or
          polyvinyl chloride) is recommended.

     4.   A 1" diameter pipe appears most economical  on the basis of the
          cost analysis presented.

     5.   A pipe spacing of 140 cm or greater appears adequate for the
          Portland, Oregon, climate while a 280 cm pipe spacing is
          adequate for the Athens,  Georgia climate.  An extremely cold
          climate similar to the 1970 St. Paul, Minnesota weather would
          require pipe spacings less than 100 cm even though 140 cm pipe
          spacing provided significant heating.

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                         SECTION III

                   THE SOIL WARMING SYSTEM

     The soil warming system examined in this research applies to open
field operations and is composed of parallel  pipes buried in the soil  at
uniform spacing and depth.  Since installation costs are high, it is
desirable to be able to predict the effects of the system to ensure that
the pipes are laid at appropriate depths and spacing.   The mathematical
model used employs partial differential  equations governing heat and
mass transfer in porous media.   Axial variations along the pipe are
ignored, the soil is assumed to be saturated at a depth of 200 cm, and
the soil temperature is considered constant at a depth of 1350 cm.
Neglecting axial variations along the pipe introduces  little error
because the flow rate of the condenser cooling water may be made high
enough to produce a small temperature drop along the pipe.  The axial
temperature gradients would be much smaller than the radial gradients
and therefore negligible.  The soil surface is treated as a plane with
no foliage.  Radiant, convective, and evaporative heat transfer at the
surface is considered.

     At the surface, the heat and mass fluxes are found by using weather
data along with empirical convection coefficients.  The equations are
solved on a digital computer for the desired boundary conditions.

     A laboratory experiment (Sepaskhah, 1974) was modeled to verify the
results of the computer simulation.  The experimental  apparatus consisted
of an insulated box of soil with a heat source and water source located
on one wall at a depth of 32 cm.  The box was 48 cm high by 40 cm wide
and the particular soil modeled was a loamy sand.  The temperatures

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and moisture contents were measured and are presented in Figures 1 and 2
for comparison with the results of the computer simulation.  The experi-
mental and simulated results are in fair agreement and the computer
simulation is assumed valid for these conditions.

     Irrigation of the soil subjected to soil warming is desirable, if
not necessary.  Without irrigation, the soil dries and therefore is less
suitable for raising crops.  The soil warming is also inhibited by low
moisture content since the thermal conductivity of soil decreases with
decreasing moisture content.  Figure 3 presents temperature distribu-
tions after 31 days of simulated operation for a loamy sandy soil for 1)
soil warming with no irrigation, 2) irrigation at the heating pipe, and
3) surface irrigation.  The irrigation rates were 10.8 cm/day (4.25
in/day), while the pipe depth was 50 cm and the spacing was 140 cm.
Both the unirrigated and the surface irrigated simulations indicate less
warming of the soil than does the soil warming simulation with irriga-
tion at the pipes.

     Figure 4 presents the moisture content distributions for the cases
presented in Figure 3.  The initial moisture content is a function of
depth only and is presented as point values versus depth.  The moisture
content for the surface irrigated simulation and the simulation for no
irrigation varied only slightly in the horizontal direction.  The
moisture contents for these two cases are therefore presented as average
values at the various depths.  For example, the moisture content at 60
                     3   3
cm depth was 0.263 cm /cm  initially, and after 31 days of operation was
        33                            33
0.249 cm /cm  for no irrigation, 0.344 cm /cm  for surface irrigation
                               3   3
and ranged from 0.42 to 0.38 cm /cm  for subsurface irrigation.  It is
noted that the unirrigated example is drier than the initial distribu-
tion and that the surface irrigated example is drier than the one with

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            48    12  16   20    24  28   32   36  40


            Horizontal distance  from pipe - cm
   Figure  1.   Comparison  of calculated temperature (°C)

               with  experimental  values from Sepaskhah

               (1974).

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48
         48    12  16   20   24   28  32   36   40

          Horizontal distance from pipe - cm
Figure 2.   Comparison of calculated moisture content
           (cm /cm ) with experimental  values from
           Sepaskhah (1974).

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irrigation at the pipes even though the irrigation rates  were the same.
Furthermore, it is expected that prolonged operation of a soil  warming
system with no irrigation at the pipe would result in drying near the
pipe.  Rykbost (1973) reported a very dry region (Moisture content equal
          3   3
to 0.09 cm /cm )  from 0 to 2 cm from the heating pipe for soil  warming
in an open field with surface irrigation.  The computer program does not
predict this because the node size is 10 cm and moisture  content is
approximated by one mean value over the 10 cm x 10 cm volume.  Reduced
moisture content at the heating pipe reduces soil warming because
thermal conductivity decreases with decreasing moisture content.

     Subsurface irrigation offers additional benefits in  the form of
reduced water consumption.  Hanson and Williams (1968) and Hanson, et al
(1970) report production of equivalent yields of cotton with 25 percent
savings in water consumption using subsurface irrigation  instead of
furrow irrigation.  Zetzsche (1964) and Newman (1965) reported 42
percent water savings in growing cotton with subsurface irrigation.

     Incorporation of a subsurface irrigation system with the subsurface
soil warming system is recommended since irrigation at the heating pipe
increases the warming of the soil and reduces water consumption.   A
simple method of providing both heating and irrigation would be to
locate a small porous pipe for irrigation over a larger heating pipe.
The use of two pipes -- one to irrigate and one to heat -- should not be
much more expensive than soil warming with surface irrigation since
surface irrigation also requires piping.  The subsurface  irrigation
system is a permanent installation, therefore labor costs for operation
should be minimal and tend to offset the higher capital outlay.   Potential
problems, such as root clogging of the irrigation pipe and maintaining
the desired irrigation flow rate, are not considered insurmountable
obstacles to successful operation.
                                  10

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                         SECTION IV

                           RESULTS

     The model used in this research simulated irrigation provided at
the heating pipe.  The soil warming system was simulated for 31  days
using January and August weather data and pipe temperatures starting with
temperature and moisture contents representative of an unheated  soil.
The soil warming and irrigation system pipe spacings were 140,  280, and
560 cm while pipe depths of 50 and 100 cm were used.  Typical  computer
simulations are shown on Figures 5 through 7.   The average increase of
soil temperature and moisture content in the soil  profile from the
surface to a depth of 100 cm and the percent of this region with a
temperature of 24°C or higher were calculated.  These quantities are
presented in Table 1.  Table 2 shows the average increase in soil  temper-
ature and the average increase in moisture content in the soil  profile
to a depth of 200 cm and the percent of the 200 cm region with a temper-
ature of 24°C or higher.  Since increased moisture content and temperature
represent more favorable conditions for plant growth, these quantities
are used to evaluate the relative benefits of the different pipe spacings
and depths.

     It is observed from these simulations that the increase in  water
content is greatest for the 50 cm pipe depth, that the 50 cm pipe depth
provides better soil warming for the 0 to 100 cm region and that the 100
cm pipe depth provides better soil warming for the 0 to 200 cm region.
Based on the increased moisture content and the fact that plants
have ultimate root depths considerably less than 200 cm in the early
half of the growing season, and that few plants or soils reach to 200
cm depth, the shallower pipe depth is deemed more beneficial.
                                 11

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Temperature - °C
Depth - cm
      0
                              20


                              40


                              60


                              80


                             100


                             120


                             140


                             160


                             180


                             200
Moisture content
  cm  / cm
0    20    40    60 70
               .42
                              .30
                               38
                           .42
                           .44
              0    20    40    60 70
               Horizontal  distance from pipe -  cm
Figure 5.  Temperature and moisture content  distributions  for
a pipe spacing of 140 cm and a pipe depth of 100 cm and  average
monthly weather data and condenser discharge temperature (41C)
for Portland, Ore. in August.   Simulation is for 31  days of
operation.
                              12

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   200
           Horizontal distance from pipe - cm
Figure 6.  Moisture content distribution for a pipe
spacing of 280 cm and a pipe depth of 50 cm for
average monthly weather data and condenser discharge
temperature for Portland, Ore.  in January.  The
simulation is for 31 days of operation.
                   13

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200
                                  r
    0     20   40     60    80   TOO   120   140

       Horizontal distance from pipe - cm
Figure 7.  Isotherms (°C) for a pipe spacing of
280 cm and a pipe depth of 50 cm for average
monthly weather data and condenser discharge
temperature (29°C) for Portland, Ore. in January.
The simulation is for 31 days operation.
                14

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Operation of the soil warming system over the entire growing season
would also result in higher temperatures than those based on 31 days of
operation.  Figure 8 presents the results of a simulation for January
conditions for 72 days operation with pipe spacing of 280 cm and depth
of 50 cm.  Comparison with Figure 7 illustrates the effect of prolonged
system operation, since the temperatures presented in Figure 8 are
appreciably higher than those of Figure 7.

     Since installation is a major cost, the soil warming system should
be a permanent installation.  Provision must, therefore, be made for
subsequent cultivation of the soil.  Therefore, the soil warming pipes
should be buried deeper than the maximum cultivation depth.  A pipe
depth of 30-50 cm (13-19 in.) is recommended to provide optimum irriga-
tion, allow for cultivation, and provide the maximum amount of soil
warming to the roots over the entire growing season.

     From the data developed by the computer simulations, pipe spacings
of 140 cm appear adequate for open field operation in moderate climates.
The data presented in Tables 1 and 2 also indicate that decreasing the
pipe spacing increases the soil warming and irrigation effects of the
soil warming system.

     While there are indications of the effect of the pipe spacing in
the results presented in Tables 1 and 2, no optimum pipe spacing can be
specified without performing a complex economic study of the benefits
derived from decreasing pipe spacing compared to the increased costs
caused by decreasing pipe spacing.

     To further estimate the effects of the warming system for annual
operation, the computer simulation used average monthly weather data for
                                  17

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1970 together with average monthly condenser discharge temperatures to
simulate operation for the entire year of 1970.    Average monthly weather
data for 1970 were used and the condenser discharge temperature was
estimated by adding 22.2°C (40°F) to the calculated wet bulb temperature.
Figure 9 presents the average temperature at 10 cm depth for Portland
weather data for 1970 and for average predicted condenser discharge
temperatures for the Trojan nuclear power plant located near Portland.
Figure 10 shows the average temperature at the 20 cm depth for 1970
Portland operation.  Pipe depth was 50 cm and the pipe spacing was 140
cm.

     Simulations were also made for a warm climate, Athens, Georgia, and
for a cold climate, St. Paul, Minnesota.  Figures 11 and 12 show the
annual temperature variations at the 10 and 20 cm depths for unheated
soil and for heated soil with a pipe depth of 50 cm and pipe spacings of
140 and 280 cm for the Athens climate.  Figures 13 and 14 show annual
temperature variations for St. Paul.

     An indication of benefits from operation of the soil warming system
can be obtained from Figures 9 through 14.  As an example, Figure 9 may
be used to estimate the time by which the growing season could be
extended by use of soil warming systems.  Without soil warming, a crop
with a seed germination temperature of 10°C could not be planted until
March.  With soil warming, however, the required temperature is reached
approximately 15 weeks earlier at the 10 cm depth.  Similarly, the late
growing season temperatures are extended appreciably.

SOIL WARMING PIPE SIZE

     A typical heating rate was calculated from the results of the
computer simulation for 140 cm pipe spacing, 50 cm pipe depth and
January weather conditions.  The heating rate, q, was:

                                  19

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     q = 0.22 cal /cm-sec

     To estimate the pumping requirement the water flow rate was calcu
lated from an energy balance:
Since it is desirable to minimize axial  temperature gradients to provide
effective soil warming, the temperature  gradient -t— is chosen to be small
For this calculation a 1°C temperature drop in 100 meters is chosen.
The water flow rate is then:
     m = (.22 cal/cm-sec)  [(1  cal/g-C)  (1°/10000 cm)]"1
     m = 2200 g/sec  (4.9 Ft3/min)
For a 1/2" diameter pipe the average velocity is

     v = m/p^ = 1740 cm/sec (57 Ft/sec)

The viscosity of water at 40C is:

                 ?
     v = 0.008 cm /sec

The Reynolds number is:

     Ren = VD/v = 1740(1. 27)/. 008
                   K
         = 2.7 x 10°
                                 26

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The friction factor for a smooth pipe is



     f ~ 0.014



The pressure drop is:
                 )(1740)2   10000

                    980)     1.27
     AP = 170,000 g/cm2 (58Psi)
The pumping requirement, W, for 100 m of 1/2"  diameter piping  is:



     W = mAP/p = (2200) 0.7 x 105

       = 37.4 Watts



The pressure drop for a 1" diameter pipe is:



     AP -  on (435)2    10000
     AK - .ui/ 2(980)    2.54



        = 6461 g/cm2 (2.2 psi)



The pumping requirement for 1" diameter piping is:



     W = 1.42 watts/100 meters



The pumping requirement for a 2"  diamter pipe  is:



     W = .05 Watts/100 meters
                                  27

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     Based on a cost of 8.6*.  12tf,  and 35tf /FT for  1/2",  1",  and  2"  PVC
pipe, respectively, a pumping  efficiency of 50%,  5  years  of  pumping  and
a cost of 3£ /kw-hr, the costs of the piping and  pumping  for 100  meters
are:

     Costs = Pipe Cost + (5) 365(24)(.^)(1^)(.03)

           = $126.50 for 1/2"
           = $ 43.10 for 1"
           = $116.14 for 2"

     Based on this simple cost analysis, the 1" diameter  PVC pipe would
be chosen.
                                 28

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                          SECTION  V
                         REFERENCES

1.   Beall, S. E.  1973.  Conceptual design of a food complex using
          waste warm water for heating.  Journal of Environmental
          Quality.  Vol. 2, No. 2.

2.   Berry, James W. and Herman H. Miller, Jr.  1974.  A Demonstration
          of Thermal Water Utilization in Agriculture.  U.S. Environmental
          Protection Agency EPA-660/2-74-011.   Corvallis, Oregon.

3.   Boersma, L., L. R. Davis, G.  M. Reistad,  J. C. Ringle, and W. E.
          Schmisseur.  1974.  A Systems Analysis of the Economic Utiliza-
          tion of Warm Water Discharge from Power Generating Stations.
          Oregon State University Engineering Experiment Station Bull.
          No. 48.  Corvallis, Oregon.

4.   Hanson, E.  G., B. C. Williams, D. D. Fangmeier, and 0. C. Wilke.
          1970.   Influence of Subsurface Irrigation on Crop Yields and
          Water Use.  Proceedings  of National  Irrigation Symposium.
          University of Nebraska,  Lincoln, Nebraska.

5.   Hanson, E.  G., and B. C. Williams.  1968.  Subsurface Irrigation of
          Cotton.  Proceedings of National Irrigation Drainage Speciality
          Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, American Society of Civil Engineers.
          p. 281-292.

6.   Newman, J.  S.  1965.  Evaluation of Subirrigation of Crop Production.
          Proceedings of West Texas Water Conference, 3:97-103.
                                   29

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7.   Rykbost, K.  A.  1973.  An Evaluation of Soil  Warming for Increased
          Crop Production.  PhD thesis.   Oregon State University,
          Corvallis, Oregon.

8.   Sepaskhah, A.  R.  1974.  Experimental  Analysis of Subsurface
          Heating and Irrigation on the Temperature and Water Content of
          Soils.   PhD thesis.   Oregon State University, Corvallis,
          Oregon.

9.   Zetzsche, J. B., Jr.  1964.  Evaluation of Subirrigation with
          Plastic Pipe.    American Society of Agricultural Engineers.
          Paper No. 64-731.   St. Joseph, Michigan.
                                 30

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                                   TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
                            (Please read Instructions on the reverse before completing)
 1. REPORT NO.
    EPA-600/3-76-026
                                                            3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO.
 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
   DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR AGRICULTURAL  SOIL HARMING

   SYSTEMS  UTILIZING WASTE HEAT
               5. REPORT DATE
                 March  1976
               6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
 7. AUTHOR(S)
   David  L.  Slegel
                                                            8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
 9. PERFORMING ORGANLZA.TJON NAME ANQ ADDRESS ni xci cirm
   Assessment & Criteria uevel oprnenT m VIST on
   Corvallis Environmental Research  Laboratory
   Office  of Research and Development
   U.S.  Environmental Protection  Agency
   Corvams, Oregon 97330	
                10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
                 1BA608(water)
               11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
 12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
    same
                                                            13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
                                                               Interim
                                                            14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
                                                               EPA-ORD
 15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
 16. ABSTRACT

    This work was performed  to provide potential  users  of soil warming systems  with
    some general guidelines  for the design of a  soil  warming installation.  Although
    a  detailed design is  not included, the general  configuration of such  a  system
    is discussed.

    A  computer program  that  solves the equations  governing heat and water transfer in
    soils was used to simulate the operation of  a  soil  warming system composed  of a
    series of buried pipes at uniform spacing and  depth carrying warm water.  The re-
    sults included temperature and moistrue content distributions for various soil
    warming system pipe spacings and depths and  for varying weather conditions.  Annual
    temperature cycles  are presented for Portland,  Oregon; Athens, Georgia; and  St.
    Paul, Minnesota; for  soil  with no heating; and  for  soil with a continuously  opera-
    ting soil warming system.
    The conclusions include  suggested soil warming  system pipe spacing, depth and
    size.  Recommendations concerning irrigation methods are also included.
 7.
                                KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
                  DESCRIPTORS
                                              b.IDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS
                             c. cos AT! Field/Group
    *Beneficial  use-industrial  water,*Therma
    water,  *Water Utilization,  Heated water,
    Water Pollution Control,  Thermal  Polluti(
    Agriculture, *Frost protection,  Irrigati<
    water,  *Soil-water-piant  relationships,
    Soil  temperature
      Waste heat use in ag-
  n,  riculture, thermal
  n   pollution  control,
      soil heating
05F
 B. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT
    RELEASE TO PUBLIC
                                              19. SECURITY CLASS (ThisReport)
                                                UNCLASSIFIED
                             21. NO. OF PAGES
                                     38
                                              20. SECURITY CLASS (This page)
                                                UNCLASSIFIED
                                                                         22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (9-73)
31
                            tt U S GOVt^NMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1976-696-883170 REGION 10

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