1.

85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING

HOMEWORK 1 – DUE SEPTEMBER 23, 2005

You may collaborate in working on the homework, but the work you submit should be
your own. Questions are by design open-ended: you may need to make assumptions or
develop your own approach.

Question 1 (1 point)
This question relates to professional practice rather than water or wastewater treatment. It
is intended to stimulate some thought about how to communicate technical information
effectively.
Consider the following two passages:
1. Galactic dark matter may consist of weakly interacting particles which can be
captured and trapped in stars, and which would then contribute to the transfer of
energy. A special class of these particles (“cosmions”), with weak cross-sections
that are larger than standard has been invoked as a solution of the solar-neutrino
problem, and also as a means of suppressing convection in the cores of horizontal-
branch stars.
2. Subduction of the Juan de Fuca and Gorda plates has presented earth scientists
with a dilemma. Despite compelling evidence of active plate convergence,
subduction on the Cascadia zone has often been viewed as a relatively benign
tectonic process. There is no deep oceanic trench off the coast; there is no
extensive Benioff-Wadati seismicity zone; and most puzzling of all, there have not
been any historic low-angle thrust earthquakes between the continental and
subducted plates.
Which of these two passages is easier to read? Why?

Question 2 (2 points)

What happens to your wastewater? Describe the wastewater treatment facilities that service
your residence at either home or school. The description should list the individual unit
processes that comprise the treatment system and what each process accomplishes.

Question 3 (2 points)
Where does your drinking water come from? Describe the source of your water at either
home or school, how it is treated, and how it is conveyed from the source to the distribution
system.

Question 4 (5 points total, 1 point each part)

A waste treatment system is to be designed for a raw wastewater containing 200 mg/L of
carbonaceous oxygen demanding material (BOD). The wastewater flow rate of 0.2 million
gallons per day (mgd) is to be introduced into a reactor tank having a theoretical detention
time of 1 day. The organic matter is oxidized at the rate of 1.0 day-1 (first-order rate
constant). Note that 1 mgd = 1.55 ft3/sec.
Compare the relative steady-state treatment efficiencies of the following tank configurations
all having the same total theoretical detention time:.
a. A fully-mixed circular tank, 80 feet in diameter, with inflow at center and outflow
along the perimeter. Specify the tank depth.
b. A rectangular dispersed-flow tank, 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, containing a
central longitudinal baffle. Specify the tank depth.

c. A dispersed-flow tank of the same shape as in part b, but without the central baffle.

d. Three fully-mixed circular tanks of equal size in series. Specify the tank diamteters
and depths.

e. Which configuration would you recommend and why?

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 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING
HOMEWORK 2

1.

A plug-flow treatment reactor has an influent flow with a concentration of 150 mg/L of
total toxic organics (TTO) and a flow rate of 380 L/min. The reaction is first-order with a
rate constant of 0.4 hr-1.
a) Determine the required detention time and reactor volume to achieve an effluent
concentration of 20 mg/L.
b) Plot the percentage of TTO removed as a function of detention time.

2.

A completely-mixed treatment reactor has an influent flow with a concentration of 150

mg/L of total toxic organics (TTO) and a flow rate of 380 L/min. The reaction is first-
order with a rate constant of 0.4 hr-1.
a) Determine the required detention time and reactor volume to achieve an effluent
concentration of 20 mg/L.
b) Plot the percentage of TTO removed as a function of detention time.
c) How many times larger than the plug-flow reactor must the completely-mixed
reactor be to achieve 80% removal?

 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING

HOMEWORK 3

Question 1 (6 points)
A wastewater was tested in a settling column test with the following results in terms of
suspended sediment concentration:
At t = 30 minutes At t = 60 minutes At t = 90 minutes
Depth below Concentration Depth below Concentration Depth below Concentration
surface, h remaining, surface, h remaining, surface, h remaining,
(cm) c/c0 (cm) c/c0 (cm) c/c0
38 0.23 34 0.05 32 0.03
118 0.81 114 0.46 112 0.23
198 0.94 194 0.73 192 0.52
278 0.97 274 0.86 272 0.70
358 0.98 354 0.92 352 0.83

a. What type of settling is indicated by these data? (2 points)

b. This particular wastewater is proposed to be treated in a rectangular sedimentation
tank having a detention time of 2 hours and a depth of 4 meters. Estimate the
percent of suspended sediments that will be removed. (2 points)
c. If the wastewater flow rate is 7,500 m3/day, what needs to be the area and volume of
the sedimentation tank? (2 points)

Question 2 (2 points)
The city of Hong Kong has a dual water-supply system that provides freshwater for drinking
and bathing, and salt water for flushing toilets. At the Hong Kong wastewater treatment
plant, as in most other wastewater treatment plants, wastewater is passed through a primary
clarifier to settle out suspended solids. The Hong Kong plant achieves greater removal in
their primary clarifier than most plants elsewhere in the world. Why?

Question 3 (2 points)
A rectangular sedimentation basin is to be designed for a flow of 1.0 mgd (million gallons
per day) using a 2:1 length:width ratio, an overflow rate of 0.00077 fps (feet per second),
and a detention time of 3.0 hr. What are the dimensions of the basin?

 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING

HOMEWORK 4

Question 1 (5 points)
A suspension of three sizes of spherical particles is to be filtered at a rate of 15 m/hr through
a 60-cm rapid sand filter. The bed sand has a diameter of 0.5 mm and a porosity of 0.4.
Particle counting indicates that there are 5, 25, and 125 mg/L each of 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0-
micron diameter particles, respectively. The particles have a density of 1.05 g/cm3. The
water temperature is 25C.

a. Assuming discrete particle settling, determine the single collector efficiency, η, for
each particle size using the theoretical model of Yao et al. (1971) as given in the
notes for Lecture 7. (2 points)
b. If the attachment efficiency, α, is 0.2, what is the concentration of each particle after
the water passes through the filter bed? (2 points)
c. If the attachment efficiency, α, is 1.0, what is the concentration of each particle after
the water passes through the filter bed? (1 point)

Question 2 (5 points)
Design a sedimentation treatment system for a raw water with the following characteristics:

Maximum daily flow = 4 m3/s

Average daily flow = 3 m3/s
Coagulant = alum
Settling velocity for floc = 3.2 m/hr
Your design should be for a horizontal-flow rectangular basin with a chain and scraper
sludge removal system. You can assume a dynamic viscosity for water of 0.00131
kg/m-s and a density of 999.7 kg/m3. You should specify the number of sedimentation
basins, the basin dimensions, and the basin overflow rate and hydraulic residence time.
Sludge scrapers come in a standard 6-meter length, so your basin width should be in
increments of 6 meters. Design guidelines for horizontal-flow rectangular tanks are
excerpted below from MWH (2005):
Parameter Units Value
Minimum number of tanks* Unitless 2
Water depth Meters 3 to 5
Minimum length-to-depth ratio Unitless 15:1
Width-to-depth ratio Unitless 3:1 to 6:1
Minimum length-to-width ratio Unitless 4:1 to 5:1
Overflow rate m/hr 1.25 to 2.5
Horizontal mean-flow velocity = Vf m/min 0.3 to 1.1
Detention time hr 1.5 to 4
Outlet weir loading rate m3/m-hr 9 to 13
* Number of tanks should be sufficient to allow one tank to be taken off-line for maintenance without
causing overloading of remaining tank(s).

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 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING
HOMEWORK 5

Question 1 (4 points)
The water defined by the analysis given below is to be softened by excess-lime (and soda
ash) treatment.

a. Sketch an meq/L bar graph (1 point).

b. Calculate the softening chemicals required (3 points).
c. Draw a bar graph for the softened water after recarbonation and filtration, assuming
that 80% of the alkalinity is in the bicarbonate form (1 point).

CO2 8.8 mg/L

2+ –
Ca 40.0 mg/L ALK (HCO3 ) 135 mg/L
2+ –
Mg 14.7 mg/L SO42 29.0 mg/L
+ –
Na 13.7 mg/L Cl 17.8 mg/L

1
Question 2 (2 points)
A small community has used an unchlorinated ground-water supply containing
approximately 0.3 mg/L of iron and manganese for several years without any apparent iron
and manganese problems. A health official suggested that the town install chlorination
equipment to disinfect the water and provide a chlorine residual in the distribution system.
After initiating chlorination, consumers complained about water staining washed clothes and
bathroom fixtures. Explain what is occurring due to chlorination.
ANSWER: Chlorine is a strong oxidizer and is oxidizing the iron and the manganese. The
oxidized iron and manganese is relatively insoluble and forms precipitates. These
precipitates cause the stains on fixtures and laundry. Apparently, before chlorination, the
iron and manganese remained dissolved or as fine colloids and passed through the system
without causing problems.

Question 3 (2 points)
A wastewater containing phenol at a concentration of 0.4 mg/L is to be treated by granular
activated carbon. Batch tests have been performed in the laboratory to determine the
relative adsorption of phenol by GAC. Testing entails adding a mass of carbon to V = 1 liter
of the 0.4 mg/L-solution, allowing the solution to reach equilibrium over 6 days, and then
measuring the resulting equilibrium concentration of phenol. Results are shown in the table
below. Develop a Freundlich isotherm to fit these data.

Mass of carbon, Initial conc., Equilibrium conc

M (gm) C0 (mg/L) Ce (mg/L)
0.52 0.400 0.322
2.32 0.400 0.117
3.46 0.400 0.051
3.84 0.400 0.039
4.50 0.400 0.023
5.40 0.400 0.012
6.67 0.400 0.0061
7.60 0.400 0.0042
8.82 0.400 0.0023

Question 4 (2 points)
An ion exchange resin is used to remove nitrate from a water supply with the ionic
concentrations shown below. The total resin capacity is 1.5 equivalents per liter of resin.

Cations meq/L Anions meq/L

–
Ca2+ 1.4 SO42 0.0
–
Mg2+ 0.8 Cl 3.0
–
Na+ 2.6 NO3 1.8

d. Do the anions and cations balance? (1 point).

e. What volume of water can be treated with each liter of resin? (2 points)
– –
f. Qualitatively, how would your answer differ if the concentrations of Cl and SO4
were reversed? (1 point).

 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING

HOMEWORK 6

Question 1 (2 points)
You need to design an air stripper for ground water contaminated by benzene. Your ground­
water extraction system will generate 0.1 m3/s at a concentration of 100 µg/L. You need to
reduce the concentration to the MCL under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which is 5 µg/L. Your
manufacturer’s representative tells you that their 3.5-inch plastic tripacks have a value of KLa =
0.011 sec-1. Determine the diameter and height of the tower assuming a water flow rate of 0.014
m/s and stripping factor of 3.5.

Question 2 (2 points)
The results of a chlorine demand test on a raw water at 20°C are given in the following table:
Sample Chlorine Dosage Residual chlorine after 10
(mg/L) minutes of contact (mg/L)
1 0.2 0.19
2 0.4 0.37
3 0.6 0.51
4 0.8 0.50
5 1.0 0.20
6 1.2 0.40
7 1.4 0.60
8 1.6 0.80

a. Sketch the chlorine demand curve.

b. What is the breakpoint chlorine dosage?
c. What is the chlorine demand at a chlorine dosage of 1.2 mg/L?

Question 3 (4 points)
The average daily wastewater flow for a city is 17.6 L/s, the peak hourly rate is 28.4 L/s, and the
minimum hourly rate is 7.1 L/s. Design a rectangular-cross-section grit chamber with a
proportional weir outlet to control flow. Assume the grit particle to be removed has a settling
velocity of 2.3 cm/s and that the chamber flow-through velocity is to be maintained at
approximately 0.3 m/s. You can assume the grit chamber will be 30 cm wide and that the weir
coefficient, CW, for the proportional weir is 0.98. The proportional weir equation does not have a
solution at h = 0, which is the bottom of the weir. You can set the bottom width as that
determined for h = 1 cm. In other words, your weir will have vertical sides between h = 0 and
h = 1 cm.

Question 4 (2 points)
Fats, oils, and grease (“FOG”) is represented by the generic chemical formula C8H16O.
Determine the COD and cell yield of FOG. Determine cell yield both per gram of FOG and gram
of COD.

 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING

HOMEWORK 7

Question 1 (10 points)

A small community wishes to construct an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant to treat
their wastewater. The plant will be maintained by a part-time operator who will check it a few
times each week.
The wastewater from the community has an average flow rate of 0.0088 m3/s (0.2 mgd) and an
influent substrate concentration of 300 mg/L as COD. Tests on the wastewater indicate the likely
concentration of settled sludge from the secondary clarifier will be 12,000 mg VSS/L.
The reactor kinetic constants are μMAX = 0.4 hr-1, KS = 75 mg/L as COD, Y = 0.4 g VSS/g COD,
and kd = 0.004 hr-1.
The design engineer proposes a fully-mixed aeration tank (reactor) with a volume of 25 cubic
meters. The design safety factor is to be 20.
You have been asked to evaluate this system – the following are specific parameters you have
been asked to calculate.
a. What is the hydraulic residence time of the reactor? (1/2 point)
b. What is the minimum allowable sludge age? (1/2 point)
c. What is the design sludge age? (1/2 point)
d. What is the biomass concentration in the aeration tank. (1/2 point)
e. What is the COD concentration in the aeration tank. (1/2 point)
f. What is the substrate utilization rate (U)? (1/2 point)
g. What is the food to microorganism ratio (F/M)? (Use the Metcalf & Eddy definition as given
in lecture and not the definition given in the textbook.) (1/2 point)
h. What is the recycle ratio and recycle flow rate? (1/2 point)
i. What is the sludge wasting flow rate? (1/2 point)
j. What is the sludge production rate. (1/2 point)
In addition to these specific parameters, the community wants you to do the following:
k. Provide an evaluation of how this plant will operate (3 points)
l. Suggest design changes (if any) to improve the design (2 points)

1
 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING
HOMEWORK 8

Question 1 (5 points)
Design a facultative lagoon for a temperate climate when the flow rate is 3800 m3/d and the
BOD5 is 200 mg/L. Use these steps:
a. Select a reasonable depth.
b. Calculate the surface area based on the BOD5 areal load.
c. Calculate the volume and hydraulic detention time.
d. Calculate the volumetric loading (kg BOD5/(1000 m3-day)).
e. If degradation in a facultative lagoon can be modeled as a first-order process with a
degradation rate of 0.2 day-1, what will be the effluent concentration from the lagoon?

Question 2 (5 points)
The aeration tank for a completely mixed aeration process is being sized for a design
wastewater flow of 4500 m3/d. The influent COD is 150 mg/L. The design effluent COD is
7 mg/L. Recommended design parameters are a sludge age of 10 days and MLVSS of
1400 mg/L. The expected Sludge Volume Index is 100 ml/g. Selection of these values takes
into account the anticipated variations in wastewater flows and strengths. The kinetic constants
from a bench-scale treatability study are Y = 0.60 mg VSS/mg COD and ke = 0.06 per day.
Calculate:
a. the hydraulic residence time and volume of the aeration tank
b. the food/microorganism ratio
c. the sludge production rate
d. the sludge recycle ratio
e. the oxygen requirement.

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 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING
TAKE-HOME MID-TERM EXAM
DUE FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4, 2005 AT 1:00 PM

This is an open-book exam, with the exception that you are asked to restrict your use of
Internet sources to the links included on the 1.85 course webpage and to routine
information sources like unit conversions. Unlike the homework, collaboration is not
permitted—please do not work with others on this exam. If you have questions, you can
reach Pete Shanahan.

1. ( 28 points)
Stormwater detention ponds are intended to serve both to attenuate flood flows
by providing temporary water storage and to improve stormwater quality by
removing sediment. The Massachusetts Stormwater Technical Handbook
recommends that stormwater detention ponds provide an average of 24 hours
detention time. The guidelines also indicate that ponds can be between 3 and 12
feet (1 and 4 meters) deep.
Given these guidelines, what size particle can be entirely removed in:
a. A 3-foot (1-meter) deep pond?

b. A 12-foot (4-meter) deep pond?

Provide your solutions in metric units. You can assume Type I settling and a

particle density of 2.6 g/cm3.

c. Do you think the 24-hour detention pond guideline is adequate to ensure

that detention ponds will remove sediment from the stormwater?
d. Do you think it is realistic for the state to give a single detention-time
guideline when the pond depth is variable? (Phrased another way, do you
think the state should provide different detention-time guidelines for 1-meter
deep and 4-meter deep ponds.) Why or why not?

2. ( 28 points)
On-site wastewater treatment via a septic tank and disposal to a subsurface
leaching field is a common means to manage wastewater in rural and suburban
areas. The technology depends upon the soil to act as a filter to remove bacteria
and viruses. Please answer the following essay questions regarding your
expectations of the mechanisms and effectiveness of this filtration technique.
a. Bacteria and viruses are generally negatively charged. If the soil below the
leaching field is a sandy soil that is fully saturated with water, would you
expect the soil to be generally effective or ineffective in removing bacteria
and viruses? Why or why not?
b. Experimental data show that virus removal by soil is generally more
effective from regular tap water than from distilled water. Provide an
explanation for this observation.
c. Studies have shown that the number of fecal bacteria found in the ground
water below a newly constructed leaching field is higher after it first starts to
be used but then decreases with time until it reaches an approximately
steady level. Provide an explanation for this observation.
d. Very coarse sands allow fast infiltration of wastewater and thus enable
smaller, less expensive leaching fields to be constructed. However, many
states ban septic systems in very coarse sands. Provide a technical
explanation for why leaching fields would be banned in very coarse sands.

3. Short answer questions (3 points each, 30 points total).

For each of the following indicate if the designated technology is appropriate for
the indicated water-quality problem. Explain why or why not (answer in no more
than a few sentences).
a. A 60-micron household filter for cryptosporidium.
b. Ion exchange for waste contaminated by radioactive cesium and strontium.
c. A strong-base ion exchange resin for nitrate.
d. Slow sand filtration for highly turbid water.
e. Activated carbon for ground water contaminated by BTEX (benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene, and xylene) from a gasoline spill.
f. Filtration for taste and odor.
g. Lime treatment for hardness of 90 mg/L as CaCO3.
h. Ion exchange for hardness of 90 mg/L as CaCO3.
i. Lime treatment for iron.
j. Suspended sediment removal in a vigorously mixed fully-mixed tank.

4. ( 14 points)
In designing a sedimentation basin, indicate whether the first stated design
characteristic would require a smaller, larger, or same size basin to achieve the
same sediment removal as the second stated characteristic. Give a short (one or
two sentences) explanation of your answer.

a. Large particles vs. small particles of the same density with Type I settling.
b. A 3-meter deep tank vs. a 5-meter deep tank.
c. Type II vs. Type I settling of influent particles of the same size and density.
d. Mineral (e.g., quartz) particles vs. organic particles of the same size.
e. Particles with a single settling velocity, Vs, vs. particles with a distribution of
settling velocities with a mean settling velocity equal to Vs.
f. A long, narrow tank vs. a circular center-feed tank.
g. Average supply water temperature of 20°C vs. 5°C

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 1.85 WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT ENGINEERING
FINAL EXAM
DECEMBER 20, 2005

This is an open-book exam. You are free to use your textbook, lecture notes,
homework, and other sources other than the internet.

1. ( 12 points)
Fish generate wastewater too! Aquariums need to be equipped with filters
to remove fish wastes and uneaten fish food from the water. One such
design is the under-gravel filter, illustrated schematically below.

Activated carbon
Aquarium tank

Bubbler tube

Gravel

The filter consists of a plastic plate that covers the floor of the aquarium
and creates an open space beneath the gravel for water to flow to the
bubbler tube. Air is pumped into the bottom of the bubbler tube, and the
rising air bubbles entrain water and pump the water upwards. The water
bubbles out of the top of the tube, drops into a plastic container filled with
activated carbon, and then flows into the aquarium. The flow of water up
and out of the bubbler tube causes water to draw from the main part of the
tank into and through the bottom gravel and then along the tank bottom to
the bubbler tube.
Identify two major treatment functions at work in the aquarium water
treatment system and briefly describe how they function.

2. (12 points)
Filamentous bacteria that cause sludge foaming in activated sludge
treatment systems differ from the desirable floc-forming bacteria in several
aspects of their metabolism. First, filamentous bacteria have different
growth curves than floc-forming bacteria as shown in the figure below.
Second, filamentous bacteria use only oxygen as an electron acceptor
and cannot use nitrate for that function; floc-forming bacteria can use
either oxygen or nitrate as electron acceptors. Third, filamentous bacteria
cannot store polyphosphates or use acetate for growth as can some floc-
forming bacteria.

Different designs have used one or more of these characteristics to create

“selectors” to favor floc-forming bacteria over filamentous bacteria in AST
systems. The selector is typically created in one or more tanks upstream
of the aeration tank as shown in the schematic below. The purpose of the
selector is to suppress filamentous bacteria growth and thereby control
foaming sludge.

Primary Selector Secondary

Clarifier Aeration Tank Clarifier

Sludge recycle

Suggest conditions that could be created in a selector to achieve the

design goal of favoring floc-forming bacteria over filamentous bacteria.

3. ( 8 points)
Parkin and Owen (1986) report the following parameter values for
anaerobic digestion of primary treatment sludge:

Ks = half-saturation constant = 1.8 (1.112(T-35)) [g COD/L];

μmax = maximum specific growth rate = 0.27 (1.035(T-35)) [day-1];

k = maximum specific substrate use rate = 6.67 (1.035(T-35)) [day-1];

ke = endogenous respiration rate = 0.03 (1.035(T-35)) [day-1];

Y = cell yield = 0.04 [g VSS/g COD];

T = temperature [°C]

If the sludge flow rate into the tank were doubled and simultaneously the
temperature dropped from 35°C to 20°C, by what ratio would the factor of
safety decrease?

4. ( 8 points)
The operations staff at a sewage treatment plant has decided to reduce
the SRT of their activated sludge process from 6 days to 3 days by
increasing the recycle rate. The goal is to reduce the oxygen requirement.
You have been called in as an expert to give a qualitative assessment of
this plan.

a. Will the oxygen requirement actually be reduced?

b. Will the MLVSS increase, decrease or stay about the same?
c. Will the sludge settling characteristics improve, stay about the
same, or worsen?
d. Will the effluent BOD concentration increase, decrease, or stay
about the same?

Part II – Short-answer Questions (5 points each, 60 points total)

The following are intended to be answerable with a few sentences or a simple

sketch.

5. From the standpoint of the overall waste treatment process, is a

sequencing batch reactor more like a plug-flow reactor or a fully-mixed
tank, and why?

6. The wastewater treatment plant for a small town is heavy overloaded with
respect to both the wastewater flow and the solids load. The plant
consists of headworks, a primary clarifier, an aeration tank, and a
secondary clarifier. Suggest a measure or measures that could be
implemented quickly and which would allow the plant to achieve better
treatment.

7. What is the difference between an anaerobic reactor and an anoxic

reactor?

8. Activated sludge systems are often designed with long, narrow aeration
tanks to approximate plug flow within the tank. An existing AST tank is
proposed to be modified by turning the aerators off along a length of the
aeration tank. The operators hope to improve nitrogen removal using this
technique. Do you think this will work? Why or why not?

9. The concentration of mixed-liquor suspended solids (MLSS) is often taken

as the concentration of active biomass (represented by the variable X in
the AST modeling equations). What are at least two shortcomings to the
assumption that X = MLSS?

10. At solids retention times of greater than about 8 days, settling of activated
sludge becomes more problematic. Give at least two reasons for this.

11. Why is control of turbidity considered important for disinfection of drinking

water?

12. One method to control sludge bulking by filamentous bacteria in activated

sludge systems is to segregate the floating sludge (“skimmings”) from the
secondary clarifier and keep those skimmings from being recycled to the
aeration tank as part of the recycled activated sludge. How does this
method reduce potential for sludge bulking?

13. A wastewater sample is being analyzed to determine its BOD content.

The sample is diluted in order to perform the test: 295 mL of distilled water
are added to 5 mL of sample to fill the 300 mL BOD bottle. The bottle has
an initial dissolved oxygen concentration of 7.9 mg/L. After incubating 5
days, the dissolved oxygen concentration is 4.5 mg/L.
a. What is the 5-day BOD of the wastewater?
b. The deoxygenation rate constant, k1, is 0.013 day-1. What is the
ultimate BOD of the wastewater?

14. An engineer has proposed to add coagulants to improve the Type 1 solids
removal in the clarification zone of a sludge thickener and thereby
increase the overall solids removal. Is this a good idea? Why or why not?

15. Short-circuiting is a greater concern in disinfection systems when 99.99%

removal is the goal than when 90% removal is the goal. Explain why
short-circuiting is more problematic when greater removal is sought.

16. An adequate chlorine concentration for disinfection is often achieved prior

to the chlorine “breakpoint.” Why then is the breakpoint concentration
used rather than a lesser concentration?

Part III – Optional Multiple-Choice Question (0 points)

17. For a final exam for 1.85, would you have rather had:
a. This three-hour final
b. This final as a take-home exam that would have been handed out
on Friday, December 2 and due on Friday December 9.
c. This final as a take-home exam that would have been handed out
on Monday December 5 and due on Monday December 12.
d. All of the above.
e. Sorry, “none of the above” is not a choice.