Relationship between first-order decay coefficients in ponds, for plug flow, CSTR and dispersed flow regimes

Adequate consideration of the hydraulic regime of a pond is essential in the analysis of BOD and coliform removal, and considerable divergence exists in the literature when reporting removal coefficients. This paper aims at integrating the existing approaches, by quantifying the relationship between the first-order removal coefficients K from the three main hydraulic regimes (CSTR, plug flow and dispersed flow) adopted in the design and performance evaluation of ponds. Based on theoretical considerations and statistical regression analyses, the relationship between the K values is investigated, quantified and modelled. Two tables are presented and two equations are proposed, which allow conversion of K values obtained for dispersed flow to (a) K for CSTR and (b) K for plug flow, based on the hydraulic detention time t and the dispersion number d. These coefficients, when applied in the CSTR or plug-flow equations, will give approximately the same prediction of the effluent concentration as that obtained when using the dispersed-flow model with its proper coefficient. With this approach designers can apply, and researchers can report, K values for the two idealised flow patterns (CSTR and plug flow).