Technical Report
Principal Investigator: William E. Gates (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Sponsor: GWRI
Start Date: 1965-05-03; Completion Date: 1969-06-30;
Keywords:
Description:
The problem of dynamic oxygen balances obtained under a variety of oxygenation and deoxygenation conditions was studied. Both laboratory studies using batch reactors and field studies using natural streams were conducted during the course of the project. It was determined that the Streeter-Phelps expression for the mathematical description of oxygen sag curves was inaccurate due to the inclusion of the first order expression for describing substrate utilization by bacteria. The Monod Equations were determined to be most appropriate for defining bacterial substrate utilization and protozoa bacterial utiliization. The nature of substrate utilization as determined by the COD test was found to be dependent on the time frame for sampling. The shorter the time frame, the greater the variances and apparent inconsistencies in the data. This situation was not totally resolved, but, probable explanations were developed. Techniques for determining the Monod Equation constants using batch reactor data and data obtained under continuous dilution in a natural stream were developed. In general, the results of the study indicate that the use of a laboratory system to evaluate the impact of alternative methods of water resource management on the oxygen resources of the receiving stream is an appropriate course of action.