RYERSON UNIVERSITY

Department of Civil Engineering

CVL 300: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND IMPACT ANALYSIS

Tutorial #4

1. How much (in kg/day) can a wastewater treatment plant of 5000 m3/day discharge to a
river with a drought flow of 137.7 m3/min if the BOD5 in the river after initial dilution
must not exceed 1 mg/L? What degree of treatment (% satisfied) does this represent,
assuming the plant receives an influent wastewater of 250 mg/L BOD5?
Answer:
a. Assume steady state and completely mixed conditions.
Let wastewater BOD be Cw mg/L
Upstream river flow (Qr) = 137.7 m3/min
Wastewater flow (Qw) = 5000 m3/d = 5000/(24*60) = 3.47 m3/min
Upstream River BOD (Cr) = 0 mg/L
Downstream River BOD after mixing (Cm) = 1 mg/L
Apply volumetric balance,
Downstream river flow (Qm) = Qr + Qw = 137.7 + 3.47 = 141.2 m3/min
Apply mass balance after mixing,
Qm Cm = Qr Cr + Qw Cw
141.2* 1 = 137 (0) + 3.47 Cw
Cw = 40.7 mg/L
Allowable BOD from wastewater= Qw Cw = 5000 * 40.7 * 1000/106 = 204 kg/day
b. Degree of treatment = (250 – 40.7)/250 = 84%

2. For the Problem 1 above, the dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) and temperature (T)
of the treated wastewater and the river are listed below:
Treated wastewater: DOw = 2 mg/L; T = 20 C
River upstream: DOr = 9 mg/L; T = 15 C
Determine the DOm, Tm, and initial oxygen deficit (Do) after the complete mixing of the
treated wastewater and the river. It is assumed that air pressure is 1 atm and it contains
20% oxygen and the saturated dissolved oxygen concentration (DOs) equals 9.75 mg/L.
Answer:
After mixing,
Apply mass balance to DO gives
Qw * DOw + Qr * DOr = (Qw + Qr) DOm
3.47 * 2 + 137.7 * 9 = 141.2 * DOm
DOm = 8.8 mg/L

Apply mass balance to temperature gives

Qw * Tw + Qr * Tr = (Qw + Qr) Tm
3.47 * 20 + 137.7 * 15 = 141.2 * Tm
Tm = 15.1 ˚C ≈ 15 ˚C
Initial dissolved oxygen deficit after mixing (Do) = 9.75 – 8.8 = 0.95 mg/L
3. A municipal pollution control plant discharges continuously 21 MGD (1 MGD equals
0.0438 m3/s) of wastewater effluent into a stream of 8.7m3/s. The ultimate BOD and the
DO of treated effluent is 50 mg/L and 2 mg/L while the stream background ultimate
BOD and DO is 6 mg/L and 8.3 mg/L. The stream is flowing at approximately 0.3 m/s,
an average depth of 3 m, and the stream temperature after mixing is 20 C (Saturated DO
concentration equals 9.1 mg/L). The deoxygenation constant is 0.2/day. Determine the
DO sag curve.
Answer:
Qw = 21 MGD = 21 * 0.0438 m3/s = 0.92 m3/s
Qr = 8.7 m3/s
Lw = 50 mg/L
DOw = 2 mg/L
Lr = 6 mg/L
DOr = 8.3 mg/L
Vr = 0.3 m/s
Dr = 3 m
Tm = 20 C
Kd = 0.2/day
Apply mass balance to determine the characteristics after mixing,
Qw * Lw + Qr * Lr = (Qw + Qr) Lo
Lo = (0.92*50+8.7*6)/(0.92+8.7) = 10.2 mg/L
Qw * DOw + Qr*DOr = (Qw + Qr) DOm
DOm = (0.92*2+8.7*8.3)/(0.92+8.7) = 7.7 mg/L
DO saturation at 20C = 9.10 mg/L
Initial oxygen Deficit after mixing (Do) = 9.10-7.70 = 1.4 mg/L
kr = 3.9U0.5 / H1.5 = 3.9*(0.3)0.5 / 31.5 = 0.41/day
tc = ln ((kr/kd)*(1-Do*(kr-kd)/(kd*Lo)))/(kr-kd)
= ln((0.41/0.2)*(1-1.4*(0.41-0.2)/(0.2*10.2)))/(0.41-0.2) = 2.68 days
Xc = Utc = 0.3 m/s * 2.68 days * 24 hr/day * 3600 s/hr = 69,466 m
Dc = (kd*Lo)*(exp(-kdtc) – exp(-krtc))/(kr-kd) + Do* exp(-krtc)
= (0.2*10.2)*(exp(-0.2*2.68) – exp(-0.41*2.68))/(0.41-0.2) + 1.4*exp(-0.41*2.68)
= 2.45 + 0.47 = 2.91 mg/L
Minimum DO at Xc = DO saturation – Dc = 9.1 – 2.91 = 6.2 mg/L

4. There are three pollution sources to a river: (1) a municipal wastewater treatment plant;
(2) a fish processing plant; and (3) a creek which drains agricultural land. The effluent
flow rate from the treatment plant is 12.0 m3/s and the organic concentration is 30.0
mg/L. The organic loading rate from the processing plant is 5000.0 kg/day. The summer
low flow in the small creek is 10 m3/s with the organic concentration of 5 mg/L. The
summer low flow in the river is 120.0 m3/s and the background organic concentration
upstream of the plants is 0.5 mg/L. If the discharge rate of the processing plant is
negligible in the river, determine: (a) the concentration of organic in the river
downstream of the plant; (b) the required treatment level (in terms of percent of mass
controlled) at the processing plant in order to have the concentration in (a) not exceeding
1.0 mg/L. Comment on the treatment level. State all your assumptions. (answer a) 3.7
mg/L; b)???)
 Since we don’t know the relative locations of all these pollution sources, we have to
consider a few possibilities.

Case 1:

Answer:
a) Volumetric balance gives Qd=Qr + Qc + Qw
Mass balance gives
QrCr + QcCc + QwCw + Lf = QdCd
Each term is calculated as follows:
QrCr = 120 m3/s*0.5 mg/L* 1000 L/m3*1/106 kg/mg * 3600s/hr* 24 hr/day
= 5184 kg/day
QcCc =10 m3/s*5 mg/L * 1000 L/m3*1/106 kg/mg * 3600s/hr* 24 hr/day
= 4320 kg/day
QwCw = 12 m3/s*30 mg/L* 1000 L/m3*1/106 kg/mg * 3600s/hr* 24 hr/day
= 31,104 kg/day
QdCd = 142 m3/s*Cd* 1000 L/m3*1/106 kg/mg * 3600s/hr* 24 hr/day
Thus, 5184+4320+31104+5000 = 12,268.8Cd
Cd = 3.7 mg/L
b) Assume X is the required treatment efficiency at the fish processing plant,
5184+4320+31,104+(1-X)5000 = 12,268.8*1
X = 6.6 which is impossible.
By inspection, if all the discharge from the fish plant is eliminates,
5184+4320+31,104 = 12,268.8*Cd
Cd= 3.3 mg/L greater than 1 mg/L
The treatment efficiency of the fish plant is irrelevant.
Concentration downstream of the plant is always greater than 1mg/L.
Case 2

Answer:
a) Volume balance gives
Qd=Qr+Qw = 120+12 = 132 m3/s
Mass balance gives
QrCr + QwCw + Lf = QdCd
5184+31,104+5000=132*Cd*1000*10-6*3600*24
Cd = 3.6 mg/L
b) 5184+31,104 + (1-X)5000 = 132*1*1000*10-6*3600*24
X=5.97 mg/L which is impossible.
If all discharges from the fish plant is eliminated,
Cd= 3.2 mg/L
The treatment efficiency is irrelevant.

5. A single source of BOD causes an oxygen sag curve with a minimum downstream DO
equal to 6.0 mg/L. If the BOD of the waste is doubled (without increasing the waste flow
rate), what would be the new minimum downstream DO? In both cases, assume that the
initial oxygen deficit just below the source is zero, and the saturated value of DO is 10.0
mg/L. (Note that when the initial deficit is zero, the deficit at any point is proportional to
the initial BOD). (Answer: New DO minimum equals 2.0 mg/L)

D =
k d L0 e -k d t
- e - k r t + D 0 e
-k rt

k r - k d
Answer:
If Do is zero, D is directly proportional to Lo.
Given the current minimum downstream DO (DOc) is 6.0 mg/L and the saturated DO (DOs) is 10
mg/L, the critical dissolved oxygen deficit (Dc) = 10 – 6 = 4 mg/L. Since doubling Lo will
double Dc, the new Dc will be 8 mg/Lm. The new minimum downstream DO (DOc) will be = 10
– 8 = 2 mg/L.
 6. Two point sources of BOD along a river (A and B) cause the oxygen sag curve shown in
Fig. 1. Sketch the rate of reaeration vs. distance down river and Lt (BOD remaining) vs.
distance down river.

Fig. 1
Answer:

7. Suppose the only source of BOD in the river is untreated wastes that are being discharged
from a food processing plant. The resulting oxygen sag curve has a minimum value of
DO, somewhere downstream, equal to 3.0 mg/L. Just below the discharge point, the DO
of the stream is equal to the saturation value of 10.0 mg/L.
 (a) By what percent should the BOD of the wastes be reduced to assure a healthy stream
with at least 5.0 mg/L of DO everywhere? Would a primary treatment plant
(typically removes about 35% of the BOD) be sufficient to achieve this reduction?
Answer: 29%
(b) If the stream flows 60 mi/d, has a reaeration coefficient (kr) equal to 0.8/d, and has a
deoxygenation coefficient kd of 0.2/d, how far downstream (miles) would the lowest
DO occur? Answer: 138.6 mi
(c) What ultimate BOD (Lo mg/L) of the mixture of river and wastes just downstream
from the discharge point would cause the minimum DO to be 5 mg/L? Answer: 31.7
mg/L
(d) Sketch the oxygen sag curve before and after treatment recommended in (a), labeling
the critical points (DOc location and value).

Answer:
(a) The minimum DO of 3 mg/L means the maximum DO deficit (before fixing it) is Dc =
10-3= 7 mg/L. For healthy conditions, we want DOc to be 5 mg/L. So, it means we want
Dc = 10-5 = 5 mg/L
Dc ( preferred ) 5
  0.71
Dc (now) 10  3
We need to remove 29% of the BOD. Since a primary treatment plant removes about
35% fo the BOD, it should do the job.

(b) Using the following equation, the critical time (tc) and the critical distance (Xc)
downsteam are:
1 k 
tc  ln r   2.31 _ days if initial Do is zero.
kr  kd  kd 
Xc = 60 mi/d * 2.31 days = 138.6 mi.

(c) What ultimate BOD (Lo) to assure 5 mg/L of DO any where in the river?
 Dc 
k d Lo
kr  kd
 
e k d tc  e  kr tc  5

Lo = 31.7 mg/L

(d)

Note: All of the above questions except Question 4 are from Introduction to Environmental
Engineering and Science by Gilbert M. Masters and Wendell P. Ela, Pearson Canada, 3rd edition,
2008.