ENGS37

INTRODUCTIONTOENVIRONMENTALENGINEERING

MidTermExam

SOLUTIONS

Fall2014

1. (10 points) Environmental engineering is problem focused and brings to bear on

thoseproblemsallscienceandengineeringdisciplinesthatcanbeuseful.Takingwater
andwastewatertreatmentasexamples,citeoneapplicationofeachofthefollowing:

- Physics
CivilEngineering
- Chemistry
MechanicalEngineering

Biology

Note:Forthepurposeofthisquestion,civilengineeringisunderstoodasthatdiscipline
ofengineeringthaterectsstructurescapableofwithstandinggravityandsidepressure
forces from water and wind, and mechanical engineering as that discipline of
engineeringthatdesignsmachineryinwhichsomethingmovesinacontrolledway(as
opposedtophysicsthatestablishestheprinciplesrelatingmotionandforces).

Physics:
Expressionofthematerialfluxastheproductofflowrateandconcentration
Useofmassconservationtoformulateabudgetequation
Formulationofthedragforceonaparticlesettlinginafluid
Cunninghamslipfactor(physicsbasedcorrectionincomputingdragforce)
Balanceofforcesonsettlingparticles

Chemistry:
Inpreparationofwaterfordrinking,useofchemistrytoremoveionsthatcreate
hardness(ex.Ca++)
MeasuringandcontrollingthepHofthewater

UseofchlorinegastomakeHOClinwaterfordisinfection
(ProcessofdisinfectionbyHOClisessentiallythesameindrinkingwatertreatment
andinwastewatertreatment.)

Biology:
Useofchlorine(orchlorinatedcompound)orozonetokillpathogens
(nowseenfromtheperspectiveofthepathogens)
Usingplantsinawetlandtoremoveunwantednutrientsfromwater
Usingmicroorganism(cells)toreduceBODofsewage

Civilengineering:
Design of sewer system to collect and convey the wastewater to a treatment
facility
Designofoutdoorbasinsasclarifiersandreactorsforwastewatertreatmentplants
(theseneedtowithstandlargewaterpressures)
Constructionofsupportbuildings(ex.labspace&offices)atthetreatmentfacility
Watertowersforstorageandpressureinmunicipalwaterdistributionsystems

Mechanicalengineering:
Conveyorbeltatbottomofarectangularsettlingtank
Armsandotherrotatingcomponentsincircularclarifiers
Allpumpsandblowersneededtopushliquidsorgasesintotreatingequipment
Squeezingmechanismtosqueezewaterfromresidualsludge.

2.(5points)ConsiderthebourbonspillintotheKentuckyRiverthattookplaceinearly
May2000.TheEPApumpedoxygeninthewaterinareaswherethedissolvedoxygen
hadfallentolessthan0.5partspermillionofoxygen.

(a) (3points) Convertthe0.5ppmofdissolvedoxygeninmg/L.

(b) (2points) Approximately how much oxygen (in kilograms) should the EPA have
pumpedinthewatertorestoreadissolvedoxygenconcentrationof8mg/Lifthe
effectedareaamountedtoalengthof3mileswheretheriverisabout80ftwide
and11ftdeep?

(a)(3points)DOinmg/L

Inwater,ppmisdefinedonamassbasis(notmolarorvolumebasisasforair!).Thus,
DO = 0.5 ppmmeansthatthereare0.5mgofoxygenin106mgofwater.

Now106mgofwater=103g=1kgofwater,whichoccupies1Liter.Itfollowsthat

0.5 ppm = 0.5 mg/L .

Note:Ifonechooses997kg/m3=997g/Lforwaterdensity,theansweris
(0.5 mg of O2 )(997 g / L)
0.499 mg / L.
(10 6 mg of water )(10 3 g / mg )

(b)(2points)AmountofoxygenpumpedbytheEPA(inkg)

Weneedtosupplyonlythemissingoxygen,thatis, DO = 8 0.5 = 7.5 mg/L.

Themassofoxygentobeinjectedintothewateristhatamounttimesthevolume(inL)
ofthewatereffected.Thisvolumeofwateris

V (3 miles )(1609 m / mile)(80 ft )(11 ft )(0.3048 m / ft ) 2

394,630 m 3 3.946 10 8 L .

Thustherequiredmassofoxygenis:

m DO V (7.5 mg / L)(10 6 kg / mg )(3.946 10 8 L) 2,960 kg.

Thisisalmost3metrictons,afairlylargenumberbutwithintherealmofpossibilities.

3.(15points)Incinerationofmunicipalsolidwastealmostalwaysimpliestheburningof
some polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a common form of plastic found in construction and
many household goods. PVC is a polymeric chain repeating the monomer C2H3Cl (for
details and useful numbers, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride). The
followingreactiondescribesthehightemperaturecombustionofthePVCmonomer:

C2H3Cl+aO2bCO2+cH2O+dClO2

(a)(2points)Determinethevaluesofthestoichiometriccoefficientsforthisreaction.
(b)(4points)CalculatethevolumeofoxygenatT=20oCandP=1atmrequiredto
incinerateonemoleofthemonomer.Expressyouranswerinliters.
(c)(4points)CalculatethevolumeofairatT=20oCandP=1atmrequiredtoincinerate
onemetricton(1000kg)ofPVC.Expressyouranswerinm3.
(d)(5points)Ifthefumesexitthestackat240oCand1atm,howmanym3ofCO2,H2O
(vapor),ClO2andtotalarebeingreleasedforeverymetrictonofPVCburned?

(a) (2 points) Determine the values of the stoichiometric coefficients for this reaction.
2 CO2 + 1.5 H2O + 1 ClO2
or
4 C2H3Cl + 15 O2 8 CO2 + 6 H2O + 4 ClO2

C2H3Cl + 3.75 O2

(b) (4 points) Calculate the volume of oxygen at T = 20oC and P = 1 atm required to
incinerate one mole of the monomer. Express your answer in liters.
From this reaction, we see that 1 mole of PVC takes 15/4 = 3.75 moles of oxygen to
combust. Since oxygen behaves as an ideal gas, pV = nRT , and we can solve for the
volume V of oxygen:

nRT (3.75)(82.05 10 6 atm m 3 / mol K )(273.15 20 K )

p
(1 atm)

0.0902 m 3 90.20 L.

(c) (4 points) Calculate the volume of air at T = 20oC and P = 1 atm required to
incinerate 1 metric ton (1000 kg) of PVC. Express your answer in m3.
Themolecularweightof C2H3Cl is(2x12)+(3x1)+35.45=62.45 g/mol.

Thus,1000kg=106gamountsto106/62.45=16,013molesofPVC,
whichrequires(16,013moles)(90.20L/mole)=1.444x106L=1,444m3ofoxygento
combust.

Now,sinceoxygenisonly20.9%ofair,therequiredvolumeofairis
(1,444m3)/(0.209)=6,911m3ofair.

(d) (5 points) If the fumes exit the stack at 240oC and 1 atm, how many m3 of CO2, H2O
(vapor), ClO2 and total are being released for every metric ton of PVC burned?

Ametricton=1000kgofPVCcontains(106g)/(62.45g/mole)=16,013molesofC2H3Cl,
andeachmoleofitburnsinto:

2molesofCO2

32,026molesofCO2

1.5molesofH2O

24,019molesofH2O
and 1moleofClO2

16,013molesofClO2

4.5molestotal

72,058molesintotal

Allofthesegases(yes,waterisinthevaporphasebecauseoftheheatofcombustion)
behaveasidealgases,forwhichV=nRT/p.Thus,

RT (82.05 10 6 atm m 3 / mol K )(273.15 240 K )

m3

0.04210

p
(1 atm)
mole

Thisleadsto 1,348m3ofCO2

1,011m3ofH2O

674m3ofClO2

3,034m3ofgasesaltogether.

Note:Thesearejustthecombustionproducts.Thefumesexitingtheincineratoralso
includetheuncombustednitrogenoftheairusedtosupplytheoxygen.


4.(10points)Acompanyisusinganoutdoorpondtogetridofsomeorganicmaterialin
a500gallons/hourwastewaterstream.Inthecurrentsituation,thepond,whichhasa
surfaceareaof1.00acre(=43,560ft2)andanaveragedepthof6ft,removes62%ofthe
organicmaterial,butthecompanyisnotsatisfiedwiththisrateofremovalandplanson
diggingasecondpondtoprovideadditionaltreatmentoftheeffluentsothatatotalof
95% of the organics are removed from the wastewater. The companys data indicate
that, being outdoors, the existing pond is subject to evaporation at the rate of 25
gallons/hour. For geological reasons, the additional pond cannot be dug deeper than
theexistingpondandmustthereforehaveadepthofnomorethan6ft.

(a) (4points)Estimatethedecaycoefficientoftheorganicsintheexistingpond.
(b) (6 points) Determine the area (in acres) that the planned second pond needs to
have to enable the company to achieve its goal of 95% removal of the organics.
Forthisassumethatthesecondpondisplacedinseriesfromthefirst(thatis,the
effluentofthefirstpondfeedsthesecondpond),thatthedecayconstantwillbe
thesameinthesecondpondasitpresentlyisinthefirstpond,andthatwaterloss
byevaporationisproportionaltothesurfaceareaofthepond.

Beforegettingstartedwiththisquestion,itishelpfultomakeasketchandtousethis
sketchtodefinesomenotation.

(a) (4points)Decaycoefficientintheexistingpond

ThevolumeV1oftheexistingpondisitsdepthxarea,

V1 H A1 (6 ft )(43,560 ft 2 )
261,360 ft 3 7,401 m 3

Thewaterbudgetfortheexistingpondis
Q0 Qe1 Q1

Q1 Q0 Qe1 500 25 475 gallons / hr.

Inotherunits,wehave

Q0 1,893 L / hr 66.84 ft 3 / hr
Qe1 94.64 L / hr 3.342 ft 3 / hr
Q1 1,798 L / hr 63.50 ft 3 / hr

Themassbalancefortheorganicmaterialintheexistingpondis,insteadystate(thatis,
withthetimederivativesettozero)andintheabsenceofanyinternalsource:

0 Q0 C 0 Qe1C e1 Q1C1 KV1C1 .

Because evaporation only takes pure water out of the pond, the evaporated
concentrationCe1 isnil,andthebudgetreducesto

(Q1 KV1 ) C1 Q0 C 0 .

Since 62% of the organics are removed, 38% remain in the water and the exiting
concentration is 38% that of the entering concentration, that is: C1 = 0.38 C0 . The
budgetfurtherreducesto

0.38 (Q1 KV1 ) Q0 .

WecansolvethisforthedecayconstantK,whichisthesoleunknowninthisequation:

Q0 / 0.38 Q1 (1,893 L / hr ) /(0.38) (1,798 L / hr )

V1
(7,401 m 3 )(1000 L / m 3 )

1.19 10 7 / sec 4.300 10 4 / hr 0.01032 / day 3.77 / year.

(b) (6points)Area(inacres)neededfortheplannedsecondpond

Letusdenoteby A2theunknownsurfaceareaofthesecondpond.Thenthevolume
andevaporationrateofthesecondpondare

V2 H A2
Qe 2

A2
Qe1 .
A1

Thesecondequationexpressedtheproportionalitytosurfaceareainsuchawaythatit
is25gallons/houriftheareais1acre.Thewaterbudgetforthissecondpondyields

A
Q1 Qe 2 Q2 Q2 Q1 2 Qe1 .
A1

The mass balance for the organic material, again in steady state, with no loss of
substancebyevaporationandwithnointernalsource,is:

0 Q1C1 Q2 C 2 KV2 C 2 .

ReplacingQ2andV2bytheirrespectiveexpressionsintermsofA2,weobtain:

A
Q1 2 Qe1 KHA2 C 2 Q1C1 .
A1

Sincetheoverallefficiencyistobe95%,theexitingconcentrationistheremaining5%of
theenteringconcentration(C2 = 0.05 C0whileC1 = 0.38 C0still),wehave

A
Q1 2 Qe1 KHA2 (0.05) (0.38) Q1 .
A1

GroupingthetermswiththeunknownA2,wehave

Q
0.38
KH e1 A2
1 Q1
A1
0.05

Then,plugginginthenumericalvaluesoftheknownquantitiesandmindingtheunits,
weobtain:

(3.34 ft 3 / hr )
4

(
4
.
30
10
/
hr
)(
6
ft
)
A2 (7.6 1)(63.50 ft 3 / hr )

2
(43,560 ft )

A2 167,397 ft 2 15,552 m 2 3.84 acres.

5. (10 points) Design an activated sludge reactor to handle a sewage flow rate of 8.5
million gallons per day with incoming BOD of 150 mg/L. Design parameters are:
hydraulicresidencetimeof4hours,solidretentiontimeof9days,andwastageratioof
0.0040.Forbiologicalparameters,usethetypicalvalueslistedinthelectureslides.

(a)(1point)Calculatethevolumeoftheaerator(inm3).
(b)(2points)Determinetherequiredrecycleratio.
(c)(1point)CalculatetheexitingBOD(inmg/L).
(d) (3 points) Determine the washout time and the ratio of hydraulic time to the
washouttime.Istheresufficientsafetymargin?Toanswerthislastsubquestion,
varythebiologicalparametersby20%andseeifthedesignedhydraulicresidence
timeof4hoursremainslongerthanallvariationsonthewashouttime.
(e)(1point)Determinethemicroorganismsconcentrationatthereactorsexitandat
thebottomofthesecondaryclarifier(eachinmg/L).
(f) (2 points) Determine the foodtomicroorganism ratio (in per day). Is it an
acceptablevalue?

(a)(1point)Calculatethevolumeoftheaerator(inm3)

Thevolumeoftheaeratorisobtainedbymultiplyingthehydraulicresidencetimeby
theincomingflowrateQ:

V
V Q

V (4 hrs )

(8.5 10 6 gallons / day )(0.00378 m 3 / gallon)

(24 hrs / day )

5,355 m 3 1.417 10 6 gallons 189,110 ft 3 .

(b)(2points)Requiredrecycleratio

WebeginbycomparingthesolidretentiontimeSRTwiththehydraulicresidencetime
,becausebothofwhicharegiven:

W R
SRT
.
W (1 R)

ThisallowsustogetavalueforthefractioninvolvingWandR:

W R
SRT (9 days)(24 hrs / day )

54.0 .

W (1 R)
(4 hrs)

SinceweknowthatthewastageratioW = 0.004,wecandeterminetherecycleratioR
fromthepreviousfraction:

W R
0.004 R
54.0
54.0 R 0.270.
W (1 R)
(0.004)(1 R)

Thus,therecyclerationmustbe27%.

(c)(1point)CalculatetheexitingBOD(inmg/L)

TheexitingBODconcentration S isobtainedfirstbyusingEquation(3)afterdivisionby
X,whichisnonzeroingoodworkingconditions,inwhichwerecognizetheinverseof
thefractioncalculatedabove:
k S
W (1 R )
kd Y m
KS S
(W R)

(24 hrs / day )

(5 / d ) S
0.06 / day (0.60)
KS S
(54.0)(4 hrs )

0.171 / day (3.0 / day )

S
KS S

S
0.05704 S 3.63 mg / L .
60 mg / L S

ThisisthevalueoftheexitingBOD.[Itisquitelowandthereforegood.]

(d)(3points)Washouttimeandratioofhydraulictimetowashouttime.
Safetymargin.

The washout time is obtained from the following equation, in which we know
everything:

min

K S S0
W (1 R)

(Yk m k d ) S 0 k d K S
W R

(60 150 mg / L)
1

(54.0) [(0.6)(5 / d ) 0.06 / d ](150 mg / L) (0.06 / d )(60 mg / L)

(210 mg / L)
(0.0185)
0.00889 days 0.213 hours 12.8 min .
(437.4 mg / L d )

min

Toseewhetherthereissufficientsafetymargin,weformtheratiooftheactual
residencetimetotheminimumresidencetime:

4 hrs

18.75 .
min 0.213 hrs

Thisvalueissignificantlylargerthanunity,andweconcludethattheoperatingcondition
isprobablyenoughabovetheminimumrequiredvaluetoprovidesafeoperation.

Whenwevarythebiologicalparametersby20%,itisexpectedthatthewashouttime
willalsovaryby20%orperhapsslightlymore,butitisclearthatanyincreaseinwash
outtimewillremainwellbelowthehydraulicresidencetime.

(e)(1point)Biomassconcentrationatthereactorsexitandatthebottomofthe
secondaryclarifier(inmg/L)

ThebiomassconcentrationXattheexitofthereactorisobtainedfromEquation(1):
S0 S

km S X
KS S

S0 S

KS S
.
km S

Pluggingtheknownvaluesforallvariablesontheright,weobtain:

(150 3.63 mg / L)
(60 3.63 mg / L)

(24 hrs / day )

(4 hrs )
(5 / day )(3.63 mg / L)

3,079 mg / L.

Thebiomassconcentrationatthebottomoftheclarifierisobtainedfromthecell
budgetperformedovertheclarifier:

1 R
X
W R
1 0.270

(3,079 mg / L) 14,257 mg / L.
0.004 0.270

Xu

(f)(2points)Foodtomicroorganismratio(inperday).Safevalue?

TheF/Mratioisdeterminedbystraightforwardapplicationofitsdefinition:

F/M

S0
(150 mg / L)

0.0122 / hrs
X (4 hrs )(3,079 mg / L)

0.292 / day.
Theinverseofthisvalueis

1
1

3.42 days.
F / M 0.292 / days

Thisisareasonablevaluebecauseitindicatesthatthereisenoughfoodforthecells
tofeedformorethan3days,shouldaninterruptionoccur.