Section 1-2-4

Instructor Notes
Residence Time Distribution in a Chlorine Contact Chamber
Susan E. Powers
Clarkson University
Pedagogical objectives and Student preparation
The three options available in this Residence Time Distribution laboratory offer a wide range of learning
objectives. It is intended that all students would receive the introductory materials, and then, based on the
particular class, students would receive specific instructions for Parts A, B or C. A bench-scale chlorine
contact chamber was originally built as part of a Senior Capstone Design class at Clarkson University in
1997. After it was built, we have found uses for it in several other classes as well. Some suggestions:
Senior Capstone Design Class: Parts A and B are appropriate for a senior capstone design class. The
students learn the application of dimensional analysis, regulatory compliance for drinking water, and
some basics of non-ideal reactors. Students would need a prior course in fluid mechanics and an
understanding of disinfection as part of water treatment processes. The CT regulations could certainly be
learned through completion of this lab.
Undergraduate water treatment or processes class: Part B tracer lab conducted in conjunction with
section on disinfection could give the students a greater understanding of pertinent regulations and the
complexities of real water treatment systems versus the ideal systems that are often taught at this level.
Students would need a basic understanding of ideal reactors and disinfection needs for water treatment.
Undergraduate laboratory class: Part B is suitable for teaching many fundamental laboratory techniques,
including generating and using calibration curves and spectrophotometry techniques. Requiring
replication of the lab could also be used to emphasize the uncertainties and errors in experimental
techniques and analysis.
Graduate processes class: Part C is most suitable for graduate students to observe non-ideal reactor
behavior and illustrate the application of mathematical models. Having the students generate their own
RTD data helps their level of interest in analysis and modeling of these data. Students would need to
have a fundamental understanding of non-ideal reactor behavior and modeling prior to completing this lab
as well as working knowledge of numerical integration and differentiation.

Description of the Laboratory Exercise

Time required
The time required to complete this laboratory depends on the scope of the project. Conducting a tracer
study for Part B requires a lab period that is at least two hours long. Part C requires the entire RTD curve
to be measured, and therefore takes longer (up to 3 hours). An entire semester can be built around parts A
and B, with the specific time in the lab somewhat dependent on the number of replicated experiments and
variables studied.

Apparatus and Reagents

The required equipment is listed in the laboratory description written for students. The primary
component needed for this lab is the Plexiglas reactor. The 1/35 scale model of the Canton Water
Treatment Plant (Attachment A) was built at Clarkson University for approximately $150 in Plexiglas
material costs. The photos included below illustrate this reactor. It could be possible to build a less
1

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

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Section 1-2-4

expensive non-ideal reactor for Parts B and C from large carboys in some arrangement, although the
concept of dimensional similitude with a real reactor would be lost.
Both the inflow and outflow need to be pumped; we used a Masterflex pump with two #17 pump heads
(Cole Parmer #7520-00). The use of one pump with two pump heads increases the probability that the
flow rates in the two streams will equal each other. It is recommended that new Masterflex tubing be
used in the pump heads to reduce the possibility that tubing degradation results in different flow rates. An
assortment of tubing and tubing connectors will also be required. The specific requirements will depend
on the specific equipment available.
We have found that green food color is an ideal tracer (blue or red would probably work too!!). The color
provides an easy way to visually observe fluid flow lines and reactor dead spaces and is easily detected by
spectrophometric methods. One small bottle of food color from a grocery store can be used for several
tracer studies. If multiple tracer experiments will be conducted, it is advised that the effluent from the
tracer study be collected and reused (with some additional make up food coloring).

Analytical apparatus
A spectrophotometer is required to analyze the concentration of green dye. A wavelength of
approximately 630 nm is appropriate, although this might vary some with the brand of food color. A scan
of absorbances in this vicinity is advised to maximize the analytical sensitivity. Having the capability to
measure absorbance in both 1 cm and 5 cm cells can increase the quality of the analysis, although the use
of only 1-cm cells is adequate (and typically all that is used in our labs).

Potential problems and remedies

The only difficulty that we have had with the lab has been due to density gradients that arise between the
fluid in the reactor and the tracer solution. We have found that temperature differences of only a few
degrees can result in density differences sufficient to cause the tracer to either float or sink, dramatically
changing the RTD. Filling the carboys and reactor at least 24 hours prior to the tracer experiment is
advised so that all fluids equilibrate at the same temperature.

Expected results
The bench-scale model of the Canton chlorine contact chamber has significant mixing and behaves in a
manner similar to a CMFR. Modeling this as 2 or 3 CMFRs in series greatly improves the quality of the
E(t) and F(t) curve fits. Actual T10 values are less than required by CT regulations during the winter
months (T=0.5 deg. C; C=1.0 mg/L chlorine). The actual residence time is large enough when the
chlorine contact chamber is operated at approximately 50% of its volume capacity or greater. Photos
illustrating the lab set up and copies of spreadsheet analyses of a tracer study are included below.

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

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Section 1-2-4

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

(v1.0)

Section 1-2-4

Tracer Study in a non-ideal reactor

1/20/00
sample
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

initial time, seconds fill duration, sec absorbance C/Co

210
4
0.023
0.040
300
3
0.044
0.076
390
3
0.06
0.103
480
3
0.085
0.147
571
3
0.108
0.186
720
3
0.132
0.228
840
3
0.158
0.272
961
3
0.19
0.328
1140
3
0.259
0.447
1350
3
0.315
0.543
1530
3
0.366
0.631
1710
3
0.402
0.693
1890
3
0.435
0.750
2070
3
0.464
0.800
2250
3
0.472
0.814
2430
3
0.485
0.836
2610
3
0.508
0.876
2820
3
0.512
0.883
3040
3
0.529
0.912

1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
C/Co

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Time (sec)

ml/sec
average initial volumetric flowrate (start pump):
8.83 (average of 3 measurements)
volumetric flow rate at 47 minutes:
9.62 (average of 2 measurements)
average volumetric flow rate at inlet:
7.43 (average of 3 measurements)
average flowrate
Dimensions
Big section -

Little Section

8.32 (weighting influent and effluent flowrates equa

(problems with old tubing affecting flow rates)
Length
Width
Height (front)
Height (back)
VOLUME (initial)

57.8
46.2
5.3
4.3
1.28E+04

cm
cm
cm
cm
mL

Length
Width
Height (front)
Height (back)
VOLUME (initial)

10.5
20
5.3
5.3
1.11E+03

cm
cm
cm
cm
mL

TOTAL VOLUME

(problems with leveling the reactor)

1.39E+04

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

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Section 1-2-4

Understanding required residence times

CT(90) values (mg*min/L)

At T=0.5

At T=0.5 C

C
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2

pH=6.0
pH=6.5
pH=6.3
137
163
153
141
168
157
145
172
161
148
176
165
152
180
169
155
184
172
157
189
176
162
193
181
165
197
184

pH=6.0

pH=6.5
46
47
48
49
51
52
52
54
55

160

pH=6.3
54
56
57
59
60
61
63
64
66

51
52
54
55
56
57
59
60
61

(CT90 values = CT99.9/3)

Required Residence Time (m

CT(99.9) values from SDWA (mg*min/L)

Other Temps

C
120

0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2

100
80
60
40
20

0.0

CT(90)
C

T=5.0
163
168
172
176
180
184
189
193
197

T=0.5
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2

T=10.0
117
120
122
125
127
130
132
135
138

T=5.0
54
56
57
59
60
61
63
64
66

T=15.0

88
90
92
94
95
98
99
101
104

T=10.0
39
40
41
42
42
43
44
45
46

T=20.0
59
60
61
63
64
65
66
68
69

T=15.0
29
30
31
31
32
33
33
34
35

44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52

T=20.0
20
20
20
21
21
22
22
23
23

0.5

T=25.0
29
30
31
31
32
33
33
34
35

1.5

2.0

2.5

160

T=25.0
15
15
15
16
16
16
17
17
17

1.0

Chlorine Concentration (mg/L)

Required Residence Time (m

T=0.5
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2

pH=6.0
pH=6.5
pH=6.3

Required Residence time (min)

pH=6.0
pH=6.5
pH=6.3
114
136
127
78
93
87
60
72
67
49
59
55
42
50
47
37
44
41
33
39
37
30
36
33
28
33
31

CT(99.9), pH=6.5
C

T=0.5 deg. C

a)
140

10
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
12

pH=6.5

b)
140

T=0.5
T=5.0
T=10.0
T=15.0
T=20.0
T=25.0

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0.0

Residence Time (min)

C
T=0.5
T=5.0
T=10.0
T=15.0
T=20.0
T=25.0
0.4
136
98
73
49
37
24
0.6
93
67
50
33
25
17
0.8
72
51
38
25
19
13
1
59
42
31
21
16
10
1.2
50
35
26
18
13
9
1.4
44
31
23
15
12
8
1.6
39
28
21
14
10
7
1.8
36
25
19
13
9
6
2
33
23
17
12
9
6

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Chlorine Concentration (mg/L)

CT values required for one log-removal of Giardia: a) as a function of pH;and, b) as a function of temper
and, b) as a function of temperature.

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

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Section 1-2-4

Analysis of compliance with CT regulations

depends primarily on water depth and temperature
scaling factor = 35
T10 (BS)
Depth (BS)

390 sec
4.8 cm

(from data curve)

Conversion to full-scale time (t*SF^0.5)

T10 (FS)
38.5 min
Conversion to full-scale depth (D*SF)
D(FS)
5.5 ft
Limiting factor for compliance
lowest chlorine conc
lowest temp
actual pH

1 mg/L
0.5 deg. C
6.3

CT values from 40 CFR 141.74

CT90 required in New York State
CT90 = CT99.9/3
CT(99.9)
CT(90)

Residence time (C=1 mg/L)

165 min
55 min

165 min*mg/L
55 min*mg/L

Since actual T10 value (38.5 min) is less than the required (55 min), the canton water treatment
plant is not in compliance when the water depth is shallow (5.5 ft)

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

(v1.0)

Section 1-2-4

Analysis of Moments

NOTES:
time
sec
0
210
300
390
480
571
720
840
961
1140
1350
1530
1710
1890
2070
2250
2430
2610
2820
3040
3500
4000
4500

(F(t))
C/Co
0
0.039655
0.075862
0.103448
0.146552
0.186207
0.227586
0.272414
0.327586
0.446552
0.543103
0.631034
0.693103
0.75
0.8
0.813793
0.836207
0.875862
0.882759
0.912069

(1), (2)
E(t)
dF/dt
0.000189
0.000253
0.000354
0.000393
0.000457
0.000338
0.00032
0.000415
0.00058
0.000554
0.000473
0.000417
0.00033
0.000297
0.000177
0.000101
0.000172
0.000119
8.42E-05
0.000133
0.00008
0.00004
0

SUMS

Zero
Moment
E(t) dt

(3)
First
Moment
t E(t) dt

(4)
(3)
(4)
First
Second
Second
Moment
Moment
Moment
t E(t) dt -tm)^2 E(t) dt^2 E(t) dt

0.046379
0.027328
0.033621
0.038248
0.036167
0.04903
0.044125
0.060222
0.101537
0.107841
0.080073
0.067241
0.056466
0.042672
0.025
0.024569
0.02626
0.021374
0.023917
0.049043
0.03
0.01
1.001112

9.739655
8.198276
13.11207
18.35893
20.65121
35.30131
37.06464
57.87291
115.7519
145.586
122.5116
114.9828
106.7198
88.3319
56.25
59.70259
68.53846
60.27574
72.7089
171.6492
120
45
1.55E+03

4.869828
6.968534
11.59914
16.63778
19.00563
31.64861
34.41716
54.22951
106.6643
134.2626
115.305
108.931
101.6379
84.49138
54
57.49138
66.17507
58.03143
70.07799
160.3694
112.5
42.5
1.45E+03

83068.49
42583.83
45108.11
43651.47
34543.97
33638.91
22137.3
20772.25
16927.73
4240.974
26.83865
1757.982
6592.548
11613.84
12309.3
19099.45
29599.96
34566.66
53219.7
186808.4
180323.8
87124.87
9.70E+05

84127.78
39143.03
41186.58
39544.76
31033.14
31876.2
19914.91
18304.15
16352.77
4612.59
11.17546
1902.03
6845.519
11904.78
12538.19
19381.84
29963.17
34105.79
52260.35
162125.2
158449.8
78298.46
8.94E+05

1. last 3 points extrapolated to provide sum(E dt)=1.00

2. Numerical differentiation by central difference FD approach
3. Using end point time as "t"
4. Using average time (over dt) as "t"

Analysis of results -

Depends on which t used for moment analysis

avg. t
max t
1.45E+03 1.55E+03
8.94E+05 9.70E+05

Mean residence time=

Variance=

1.0

0.0007

0.9

0.0006

0.7

0.0005

0.6

0.0004

E(t)

F(t)

0.8

0.5
0.4

0.0003
0.0002

0.3
0.2

0.0001

0.1
0.0000

0.0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Time (sec)

Time (sec)

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

(v1.0)

Section 1-2-4

Analysis of experimental system as ideal reactors

Flowrate (mL/s)
Volume (mL)
Theoretical residence time (s)

8.32
1.39E+04
1.67E+03

1. Single CMFR

2. PFR

C/Co=1-exp(-t/theta)

C/Co=1 for t>theta

t(s)

C/Co
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
F(t)

C/Co
0 0.00E+00
100 5.80E-02
200 1.13E-01
300 1.64E-01
400 2.13E-01
500 2.58E-01
600 3.01E-01
700 3.42E-01
800 3.80E-01
900 4.16E-01
1000 4.50E-01
1100 4.82E-01
1200 5.12E-01
1300 5.40E-01
1400 5.67E-01
1500 5.92E-01
1600 6.16E-01
1670 6.31E-01
1670 6.31E-01
1700 6.38E-01
1800 6.59E-01
1900 6.79E-01
2000 6.97E-01
2100 7.15E-01
2200 7.31E-01
2300 7.47E-01
2400 7.62E-01
2500 7.76E-01
2600 7.89E-01
2700 8.01E-01
2800 8.12E-01
2900 8.23E-01
3000 8.34E-01

0.5
0.4
0.3

expt. dat

0.2

single cmfr

0.1

PFR

0.0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Time (sec)

AEESP Environmental Engineering Processes Laboratory Manual

(v1.0)

Section 1-2-4

Analysis of experimental system as a series of CMFRs

Determine # reactors from moment analysis
avg t
max t
n=tm^2/variance
2.36E+00 2.47E+00
Theoretical residence time (s)
1673
To avoid problems with defining a factorial of a non integer - approximate this as
n=
2

To generate E(t) curve - see equation 70 in Chapter 4 of L&B text

F(t) curve generated from numerical integration of E(t) curve
E(t)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
2400
2500
1.0
2600
0.9
2700
2800
0.8
2900
0.7
3000
0.6
3100
0.5
3200
0.4
3300
0.3
3400
0.2
3500
0.1
3600
0.0
3700
0
3800
3900
4000

E(t) dt
F(t)
0
0
0.000127 0.00634
6.34E-03
0.000225 0.017593
2.39E-02
0.0003 0.026228
5.02E-02
0.000354 0.032695
8.29E-02
0.000393 0.037371
1.20E-01
0.000419 0.040578
1.61E-01
0.000433 0.042588
2.03E-01
0.000439 0.04363
2.47E-01
0.000439 0.043897
2.91E-01
0.000432 0.043549
3.34E-01
0.000422 0.042723
3.77E-01
0.000409 0.041529
4.19E-01
0.000393 0.040063
4.59E-01
0.000375 0.038399
4.97E-01
0.000357 0.036602
5.34E-01
0.000338 0.034722
5.69E-01
0.000318 0.032801
6.01E-01
0.000299 0.030873
6.32E-01
0.00028 0.028962
6.61E-01
0.000262 0.02709
6.88E-01
0.000244 0.025272
7.14E-01
0.000227 0.02352
7.37E-01
0.00021 0.021842
7.59E-01
0.000195 0.020243
7.79E-01
0.00018 0.018728
7.98E-01
0.000166 0.017297
8.15E-01
0.000153 0.01595
8.31E-01
0.000141 0.014688
8.46E-01
0.000129 0.013507
8.59E-01
0.000119 0.012406
8.72E-01
0.000109 0.011382
8.83E-01
9.97E-05 0.010431
8.94E-01
9.13E-05 0.00955
9.03E-01
8.34E-05 0.008735
9.12E-01
7.62E-05 0.007982
9.20E-01
6.96E-05 0.007288
9.27E-01
6.34E-05 0.006649
9.34E-01
1000 0.006062
2000
3000
5.78E-05
9.40E-01
5.26E-05 0.005522 Time (sec)
9.45E-01
4.79E-05 0.005027
9.50E-01

t(s)

E(t)

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
2400
2500
2600
2700
2800
2900
3000
3100
3200
3300
expt data
3400
n=2
3500
n=3
3600
3700
4000
5000
3800
3900
4000

E(t) (Sec^-1)

F(t)

t(s)

for n=
E(t) dt
0
2.41E-05
8.06E-05
1.52E-04
2.25E-04
2.94E-04
3.54E-04
4.03E-04
4.40E-04
4.65E-04
4.80E-04
4.85E-04
4.83E-04
4.74E-04
4.59E-04
4.40E-04
4.19E-04
3.95E-04
3.70E-04
3.45E-04
3.19E-04
2.94E-04
2.70E-04
2.47E-04
2.25E-04
2.04E-04
0.0007
1.84E-04
1.66E-04
0.0006
1.49E-04
0.0005
1.34E-04
1.20E-04
0.0004
1.07E-04
9.51E-05
0.0003
8.45E-05
0.0002
7.50E-05
6.64E-05
0.0001
5.87E-05
0.0000
5.19E-05
0
4.57E-05
4.03E-05
3.54E-05

0.001205
0.005233
0.011604
0.018833
0.025959
0.032397
0.037827
0.042109
0.045227
0.04724
0.048254
0.048399
0.047811
0.046626
0.044972
0.042963
0.040703
0.038278
0.035762
0.033216
0.030689
0.028219
0.025835
0.023559
0.021406
0.019384
0.0175
0.015753
0.014143
0.012667
0.011318
0.010092
0.00898
0.007975
0.00707
0.006257
0.005529
1000
0.004879
0.004298
0.003782

3
F(t)
0
1.20E-03
6.44E-03
1.80E-02
3.69E-02
6.28E-02
9.52E-02
1.33E-01
1.75E-01
2.20E-01
2.68E-01
3.16E-01
3.64E-01
4.12E-01
4.59E-01
5.04E-01
5.47E-01
5.87E-01
6.26E-01
6.61E-01
6.95E-01
7.25E-01
7.54E-01
7.79E-01
8.03E-01
8.24E-01
8.44E-01
8.61E-01
8.77E-01
8.91E-01
9.04E-01
9.15E-01
9.25E-01
9.34E-01
9.42E-01
9.49E-01
9.55E-01
9.61E-01
2000
3000
9.66E-01
9.70E-01
Time (sec)
9.74E-01

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Section 1-2-4

Analysis of reactor with dead volume

First, to determine if dead volume calculations appropriate,

compare actual and trheoretical mean residence times.
tm
theta

1.45E+03 sec
1.67E+03 sec

(based on average time approach)

Because theta>tm, there is dead volume in our reactor

The effective volume can be determined from the expt. tm:
Veff=Q*tm
Vol total

1.21E+04 mL
1.39E+04 mL

fraction dead volume

0.13

Now - since we know that there is dead volume - try a multiparameter model to fit the data
1. Plot data as 1-F(t) vs. t/theta
0
0.0

F(t)
0
0.039655
0.075862
0.103448
0.146552
0.186207
0.227586
0.272414
0.327586
0.446552
0.543103
0.631034
0.693103
0.75
0.8
0.813793
0.836207
0.875862
0.882759
0.912069

t/theta
1-F(t)
0.00E+00
1.00E+00
1.25E-01
9.60E-01
1.79E-01
9.24E-01
2.33E-01
8.97E-01
2.87E-01
8.53E-01
3.41E-01
8.14E-01
4.30E-01
7.72E-01
5.02E-01
7.28E-01
5.74E-01
6.72E-01
6.81E-01
5.53E-01
8.07E-01
4.57E-01
9.14E-01
3.69E-01
1.02E+00
3.07E-01
1.13E+00
2.50E-01
1.24E+00
2.00E-01
1.34E+00
1.86E-01
1.45E+00
1.64E-01
1.56E+00
1.24E-01
1.69E+00
1.17E-01
1.82E+00
8.79E-02

ln(1-F(t))
0
-0.040463
-0.078894
-0.109199
-0.15847
-0.206049
-0.258235
-0.318023
-0.396881
-0.591587
-0.783298
-0.997052
-1.181245
-1.386294
-1.609438
-1.680897
-1.809151
-2.086362
-2.14352
-2.431202

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

-0.5

-1
ln(1-F(t))

Expt data
t
0
210
300
390
480
571
720
840
961
1140
1350
1530
1710
1890
2070
2250
2430
2610
2820
3040

-1.5

-2

-2.5

-3
t/theta

2. For analysis - determine linear portion of the curve

eyeball line - looks like could do a linear regression of points after the 10th
ln(1-f(t))=-1.573(t/theta)+0.428
0

determine value of t/theta for ln(1-F(t))=0

this equals p(1-m)

0.272 =Vpf/Vtot

-Slope=1/((1-p)(1-m))=

1.573

(1-p)(1-m)=

0.636 =Vcmfr/Vtot

remainder = m =

0.092 =Vd/Vtot

ln(1-F(t))

0=-1.573(t/theta)+0.428
t/theta= p(1-m)

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

-1
-1.5
-2
-2.5

y = -1.5725x + 0.4283
2

R = 0.9899

-3
t/theta

Fraction of dead volume determined by this analysis similar to that determined based on tm and theta alone

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Section 1-2-4

3. To determine E(t) and F(t) curves =>

Determine F(t) curves from eqn. 73 in L&B text - only for t/theta>p(1-m) (0.272)
E(t) curve from Numerical integration
Plot these curves over series CMFR curves and expt data
F(t)
E(t)
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
0.00E+00
4.11E-02
6.36E-04
1.27E-01
8.22E-04
2.05E-01
7.48E-04
2.77E-01
6.81E-04
3.42E-01
6.20E-04
4.01E-01
5.64E-04
4.54E-01
5.14E-04
5.03E-01
4.67E-04
5.48E-01
4.26E-04
5.89E-01
3.87E-04
6.25E-01
3.53E-04
6.59E-01
3.21E-04
6.90E-01
2.92E-04
7.17E-01
2.66E-04
7.43E-01
2.42E-04
7.66E-01
2.20E-04
7.87E-01
2.01E-04
8.06E-01
1.83E-04
8.23E-01
1.66E-04
8.39E-01
1.51E-04
8.54E-01
1.38E-04
8.67E-01
1.25E-04
8.79E-01
1.14E-04
8.90E-01
1.04E-04
9.00E-01
9.46E-05
9.09E-01
8.61E-05
9.17E-01
7.84E-05
9.24E-01
7.13E-05
9.31E-01
6.49E-05
9.37E-01
5.91E-05
9.43E-01
5.38E-05
9.48E-01
4.90E-05
9.53E-01
4.46E-05
9.57E-01
4.06E-05
9.61E-01
3.69E-05
9.64E-01
3.52E-05

1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
F(t)

0
100
200
300
400
450
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
2400
2500
2600
2700
2800
2900
3000
3100
3200
3300
3400
3500
3600
3700
3800
3900
4000

0.5
0.4

expt data

0.3

n=2

0.2

n=3

0.1

Dead volume

0.0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Time (sec)

0.0009
0.0008
0.0007
0.0006
E(t)

t/theta
t
0.00E+00
5.98E-02
1.20E-01
1.79E-01
2.39E-01
2.69E-01
2.99E-01
3.59E-01
4.18E-01
4.78E-01
5.38E-01
5.98E-01
6.57E-01
7.17E-01
7.77E-01
8.37E-01
8.96E-01
9.56E-01
1.02E+00
1.08E+00
1.14E+00
1.20E+00
1.25E+00
1.31E+00
1.37E+00
1.43E+00
1.49E+00
1.55E+00
1.61E+00
1.67E+00
1.73E+00
1.79E+00
1.85E+00
1.91E+00
1.97E+00
2.03E+00
2.09E+00
2.15E+00
2.21E+00
2.27E+00
2.33E+00
2.39E+00

0.0005
0.0004
0.0003
0.0002
0.0001
0.0000
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Time (sec)

Note equation referenced in above spreadsheet from Draft textbook by Lawler, D. and Benjamin, M.
This equation describes complex mixing behavior as having three components CMFR, PFR, and dead
space.

1
t

F (t ) = 1 exp
p (1 m

(1 p )(1 m)
where: 1-m is the effective fraction of the usable tank volume, p is the fraction behaving as a PFR and 1p the fraction behaving as a CMFR. (Note, Levenspiel defines the same equation as F())

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Section 1-2-4

Analysis of the extent of chlorine conversion

reaction rate constant 2.77778E-05 sec^-1
Completely segregated model
Bench scale
time
E(t)
sec
sec^-1
0 0.000189
210 0.000253
300 0.000354
390 0.000393
480 0.000457
571 0.000338
720 0.00032
840 0.000415
961 0.00058
1140 0.000554
1350 0.000473
1530 0.000417
1710 0.00033
1890 0.000297
2070 0.000177
2250 0.000101
2430 0.000172
2610 0.000119
2820 8.42E-05
3040 0.000133
3500 0.00008
4000 0.00004
4500
0

Converted to full scale

time
E(t)
exp(-kt)E(t)dt
sec
0 3.19188E-05
0
1242 4.27434E-05 0.051302085
1775 5.99056E-05 0.030362164
2307 6.63818E-05 0.033150613
2840
7.7286E-05 0.038029408
3378 5.70722E-05
0.02797356
4260 5.41696E-05 0.042421848
4970 7.01373E-05 0.043372393
5685 9.81156E-05 0.059975089
6744
9.3648E-05 0.082228738
7987 7.99571E-05 0.079572122
9052 7.04295E-05 0.058326394
10116 5.58579E-05 0.044910549
11181 5.01912E-05 0.039178189
12246 2.99528E-05 0.022699056
13311 1.70002E-05 0.012507737
14376 2.91433E-05 0.020816867
15441 2.01761E-05 0.013991617
16683 1.42328E-05 0.011124453
17985 2.25198E-05
0.01778509
20706 1.35225E-05 0.020703928
23664 6.76123E-06 0.010364537
26622
0
0
sum

0.760796437

With the completely segregated model, it indicates that Ceff=0.76*Co

So, for Co=4 mg/L, Ceff=
3.04 mg/L chlorine
Using data from the series CMFR, know the conversion can be determined as:
Ceff/Co=(1+k theta)^-n
from previous work, know theta =
scaling to the full scale => theta=
for n=2, Ceff/Co=
for n=3, Ceff/Co=

1.67E+03 seconds for the bench scale reactor

9.90E+03 sec
0.62
0.48

Quite a large difference!!

for n=2, Ceff=
for n=3, Ceff=

2.46 mg/L chlorine

1.93 mg/L chlorine

These different methods for predicting effluent concentrations for chlorine result
in substantially different estimates. This would be especially important when deciding
if the water treatment plant complies with CT rules.

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