The State of Mixing

 One of the systems in the state of mixing is called a Completely Mixed System. A more
formal definition is that Completely Mixed Systems are those in which every drop of
fluid is homogeneous with every other drop, that is, every drop of fluid contains the
same concentration of material or physical property.

 If a system is completely mixed, then we may assume that the output from the system
(concentration, temperature, etc.) is the same as the contents within the system
boundary. Although we frequently make use of this assumption to solve mass balance
problems, it is often very difficult to achieve in real systems. This means that solutions
to mass balance problems that make this assumption must be taken as approximations
to reality.

 If Completely Mixed Systems exist, or at least systems that we can approximate as

completely mixed, then it stands to reason that some systems are completely unmixed
or approximately so. These systems are called Plug-Flow Systems.

EXAMPLE. A storm sewer is carrying snow melt containing 1.200 g/L of sodium chloride into a
small stream. The stream has a naturally occurring sodium chloride concentration of 20 mg/L. If
the storm sewer flow rate is 2,000 L/min and the stream flow rate is 2.0 m^3/s, what is the
concentration of salt in the stream after the discharge point? Assume that the sewer flow and
the storm flow are completely mixed, that the salt is a conservative substance (it does not
react) and that the system is at steady state.

The first step is to draw a mass balance diagram as shown

 Note that the mass flow of salt may be calculated as

OR

*Using the notation in the diagram, the mass balance may be written as:
Rate of accumulation of salt = [CstQst + CseQse] – CmixQmix

where Qmix = Qst + Qse

Because we assume steady state, the rate of accumulation equals zero and

CmixQmix = [CstQst + CseQse]

Solving for Cmix:

Cmix = [CstQst + CseQse]

Qst + Qse

Before substituting in the values, the units are converted as follows:

Including Reactions
Equation 3-4 is applicable when no chemical or biological reaction takes place and no
radioactive decay occurs of the substances in the mass balance. In these instances, the
substance is said to be conserved. Examples of conservative substances include salt in water
and argon in air. Examples of nonconservative substances (i.e., those that react or settle out)
include decomposing organic matter and particulate matter that is settling from the air.

In most systems of environmental interest, transformations occur within the system: by-
products are formed (e.g., CO2) or compounds are destroyed (e.g., ozone). Because many
environmental reactions do not occur instantaneously, the time dependence of the reaction
must be taken into account. Equation 2-3 may be written to account for time-dependent
transformation as follows:

Time-dependent reactions are called kinetic reactions. The rate of transformation, or reaction
rate (r), is used to describe the rate of formation or disappearance of a substance or chemical
species. With reactions, Equation 2-4 may become

The reaction rate is often some complex function of temperature, pressure, the reacting
components, and products of reaction.

The minus sign before reaction rate, k, indicates the disappearance of a substance or chemical
species.
In many environmental problems, for example the oxidation of organic compounds by
microorganisms and radioactive decay, the reaction rate, r, may be assumed to be directly
proportional to the amount of material remaining, that is the value of n =1. This is known as a
first-order reaction. In first-order reactions, the rate of loss of the substance is proportional to
the amount of substance present at any given time, t.
The differential equation may be integrated to yield either

or

Example A well-mixed sewage lagoon (a shallow pond) is receiving 430 m3/d of sewage out of a
sewer pipe. The lagoon has a surface area of 10 ha (hectares) and a depth of 1.0 m. The
pollutant concentration in the raw sewage discharging into the lagoon is 180 mg/L. The organic
matter in the sewage degrades biologically (decays) in the lagoon according to first-order
kinetics. The reaction rate constant (decay coefficient) is 0.70 d^-1. Assuming no other water
losses or gains (evaporation, seepage, or rainfall) and that the lagoon is completely mixed, find
the steady-state concentration of the pollutant in the lagoon effluent.
Solution. We begin by drawing the mass-balance diagram

The mass-balance equation may be written as

Accumulation = input rate - output rate - decay rate

Assuming steady-state conditions, that is, accumulation = 0, then

Input rate = output rate + decay rate

This may be written in terms of the notation in the figure as

Solving for Ceff, we have

Now calculate the values for terms in the equation. The input mass rate (CinQin) is

With a lagoon volume of

and the decay coefficient of 0.70 d^-1, the decay rate is