AERATION TEST PROCEDURE

A pre-survey is normally carried out to check the variation in the dissolved oxygen
concentration along each tank and the effect of depth. From this information, a point or
number of points are selected for dissolved oxygen measurement that will be representative
of the average dissolved oxygen concentration in each tank.
1.1 Dissolved oxygen electrodes
Accuracy
Accurate measurement of dissolved oxygen concentration is crucial. It is therefore essential
that reliable dissolved oxygen electrodes are used and that they should be calibrated
immediately before use.
Most, if not all, dissolved oxygen concentration probes require a minimum flow of liquid
passing the sensor to ensure a reliable response. In most cases this will occur readily in
aerated mixed liquor due to the turbulence caused by the aerator. However, part of the test
procedure is to stop the aerator, and following this the turbulence of the mixed liquor will
dissipate. Whilst quiescent conditions are unlikely to arise during the relatively short period
of the test, it is likely to prove necessary to provide localised turbulence near the sensor to
maintain an adequate passage of liquid. A small submersible pump positioned below each
sensor and directing a jet of liquid onto the sensor has been used successfully.
The importance of providing this localised mixing is evident from Figure 1 which shows the
results from one of the tests. Normal procedure was to start the pumps about 10 minutes
before stopping the aerator and continue until about 10 minutes afterwards - corresponding
to the time over which the data is used. In this case, the pumps were stopped for about
5 minutes while the aerator was off. There is an immediate fall of 5-10% in the recorded
dissolved oxygen concentration, which is restored when the pumps are restarted.
Response time
The electrodes must be capable of a sufficiently rapid response to enable changes in
dissolved oxygen concentration to be followed adequately.
While the aerator is on, the rate of change of dissolved oxygen concentration is usually small
so there is no difficulty in measuring the initial gradient of concentration (dC/dt) or the
prevailing concentration, C. But when the aerator is stopped, the dissolved oxygen
concentration may fall very quickly, and the electrodes are likely to lag behind. However,
during this part of the test it is the rate of change of DO that is required rather than the DO
itself; and after a short delay the measured DO will fall at essentially the same rate as the
actual DO - even though the measured DO may be a few percent higher than the actual DO.
(At any given time the rate of change of the electrode reading will be dictated by the
difference between the present reading and the present dissolved oxygen concentration.
Immediately after stopping the aerator the difference between the measured and actual DO
will be small, so the measured DO will not fall as rapidly as the actual DO. A lag will build up
until the difference between the measured and actual DO is such that the measured DO is
falling at the same rate as the actual DO. Within a minute of stopping the aerator the
measured DO is normally falling at 99% or more of the actual rate of change of DO.)


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local mixing off

Figure 1 Effect of localised turbulence on recorded dissolved oxygen
Consequently, although a test procedure of this sort might have seemed to require
electrodes with a very rapid response, in fact this is not so. But the first minute of data after
stopping the aerator should not be used for determining the relevant gradient.
1.2 Number and siting of electrodes
For the purpose of carrying out the procedure, the objective is to determine the average
dissolved oxygen concentration throughout the aeration tank under test. Sufficient electrodes
should be used and sited in such a way to achieve this with required accuracy and reliability.
This depends on the size of tank and how well it is mixed; initial profiles will help to
determine the spacial variation of dissolved oxygen concentration.
For the flow regime occurring with vertical axis aerators it is appropriate to notionally divide
the pocket into a few horizontal zones, with at least one electrode in the middle of each
zone. The number of zones depends on the depth of tank and the rate at which the
dissolved oxygen concentration declines with depth; a guideline of one per metre is
suggested, giving three or four for a typical tank of 4m depth. Proportionately fewer could be
used in deeper tanks.
For tanks less than 10 metres across it is probably sufficient to have only one electrode in
each zone, about half way between the aerator and the side of the tank. For larger tanks,
especially if dissolved oxygen concentration profiles show there is significant variation
between the middle and sides of the tank then it is necessary to have two or more electrodes
in at least some of the zones.
Experience to date indicates that it is exceptional for poorly mixed areas in tank corners to
be sufficiently large to warrant additional electrodes there.


Calculation of mean dissolved oxygen concentration
When calculating the average dissolved oxygen concentration it is important to bear in mind
the objective of determining the overall mean dissolved oxygen concentration in the tank. It
is not necessarily appropriate to take the simple average of all the sited electrodes; the
notional volume that each is sampling should be borne in mind and the readings weighted
accordingly.
For example, consider a tank divided into three horizontal zones with one electrode in each
of the top two but two in the lowest. It would be misleading to take the simple average of the
four electrodes - this would probably give an unrepresentatively low value. Instead, the two
in the bottom zone should be averaged, and this average then used with the individual
readings from the two higher zones to give the overall average. In effect, the results are
weighted by 0.33, 0.33, 0.17 and 0.17 (from top to bottom of the tank).
1.3 Data logging
To facilitate the best analysis of the data, which involves combining results from the various
electrodes, it is thought better to use manual reading of electrodes or digital recording rather
than a graphical/chart output; although to have one of the latter would help to give a quick
impression of how the tests are progressing.
Frequency
A minimum frequency of every 30 seconds is suggested for data logging, in order to
generate sufficient points to identify and estimate the relevant gradients. More frequent data
logging helps to overcome transient variations in the dissolved oxygen concentration
readings and facilitates a reliable measurement of the gradient, especially if it is non-linear.
However, there is probably little value in recording data more often than every 10 seconds.
Duration
Because it is only the gradients immediately before and after stopping the aerator that are
required, it is necessary to log data only for long enough before and after to obtain this -
10 minutes before and after has always proved long enough. Less than this can be
unsatisfactory: sometimes the dissolved oxygen concentration tends to oscillate rather than
fall or rise smoothly, so it is necessary to have long enough to determine the overall
gradient, not too affected by short term changes. As little as 5 minutes has been used, and
although it was possible to determine gradients from the recorded points it was felt that the
results lacked confidence.
1.4 Dissolved oxygen concentration
To be able to determine dC/dt with the aerator off it is necessary that the dissolved oxygen
concentration should be able to fall appreciably and over a reasonable length of time to
obtain sufficient recorded points. Hence, before stopping the aerator the DO must be
sufficiently high to allow a substantial fall. Another reason for requiring a fairly high starting
DO is that at low dissolved oxygen concentrations the oxygen will be limiting on the oxygen
consumption rate - giving a pronounced non-linear DO decline.
Experience indicates that it is unlikely that a reliable dC/dt for the declining phase can be
derived if the starting dissolved oxygen concentration is less than 20%, and it is desirable to
be between 30 and 60%. (See below for why it may not be desirable for the DO to be too
high.)


Many plants operate at a dissolved oxygen concentration of less than 20% and cannot
achieve higher than this under normal operation. This is not a problem if the flow is stopped
because the dissolved oxygen concentration will gradually rise. If the tests are carried out
with flow through the aeration pocket then it may be necessary to find a way of raising the
dissolved oxygen concentration. The following are suggested:
The respiration rate can be lowered by reducing the mixed liquor suspended solids, by
changing the ratio of return liquor to settled sewage. At one works the return liquor was
halved overnight before carrying out the tests the next day.
Supplementary aeration can be used to elevate the dissolved oxygen concentration before
proceeding with each test. After stopping the supplementary aeration the aerator under test
is run for a period to determine the initial dC/dt, then stopped to determine G. This means
that, once the supplementary aeration has stopped, dC/dt may be negative while the aerator
is on as well as after stopping aeration altogether; this does not matter, provided the
negative sign is included in the calculations. This approach was used for assessing the
performance of a surface aerator at different speeds: at low speeds the aerator could
maintain only a very low dissolved oxygen concentration (even though there was no flow), so
a higher speed was first used to elevate the dissolved oxygen concentration, the aerator was
then set to the test speed, and after an appropriate time it was stopped. This procedure can
be seen in Figure 2.
1.5 Saturated dissolved oxygen concentration
The method requires a value for the saturated dissolved oxygen concentration. It is common
practice to assume that this is substantially the same as for clean water. However, this will
not always be a safe assumption, especially where only partial treatment is effected and/or
in the initial pockets of a long aeration lane, and it is better to try to measure it. It is not
possible to do it on the unadulterated mixed liquor because of its inherent oxygen
consumption. One approach is to measure the saturated dissolved oxygen concentration on
the supernatant after removal of the floc from the mixed liquor by settlement or filtration.
Where the tests are being carried out on the final tank(s) of a lane it is possible simply to use
the clarified effluent.


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aerator: 80 rpm 50 rpm off 80 rpm

Figure 2 Using supplementary aeration to elevate dissolved oxygen before a test
For maximum accuracy it is good practice to use the same DO electrode, comparing the
results in saturated clean water and saturated supernatant.
It is important to take account of atmospheric pressure as well as temperature. If, because of
atmospheric pressure, the C
s
in clean water is 98% of the standard value for the prevailing
temperature, and the saturated supernatant is 99% of the clean water value, then the overall
saturated oxygen concentration for saturated supernatant at the prevailing temperature is
97%.
If the value of the oxygen concentration for the saturated supernatant is assumed to be
similar to that of water, it is important to minimise the effect of any error in making this
assumption. It is, therefore, preferable that the dissolved oxygen concentration when the
aerator is switched off is no more that 60% saturation. This will ensure that any error in the
calculated value of the oxygen deficit is relatively small.
1.6 Data analysis
In Section 1.1 it is mentioned that data for the first minute after stopping the aerator should
not be used because of the response time of the electrodes. On some occasions the DO has
been observed to rise significantly at first, especially for electrodes in the upper parts of the
tank, which is attributed to bubbles, which would normally be carried down by circulation of
liquor, rising to the surface. If this is apparent then it may be necessary to reject data for a
slightly longer period.
Although the data used for the test are the recorded dissolved oxygen concentrations for
about 10 minutes before and after stopping the aerator, it is important to note that the


required values of dC/dt are the gradients of the lines at the time of stopping the aerator - not
the mean gradients during the 10 minute periods.
It is for this reason that checking the gradients by eye, although subjective, may be more
reliable than fitting a line by regression - which tends to minimise linear error along the
length of the data rather than the best-fit gradient at one end.
1.7 Replicate tests
It is, of course, important that tests are repeated in order to check that measurements are
consistent and, by averaging results from replicated tests, to improve the overall accuracy of
the results obtained. The speed and convenience of the test procedure facilitates this.
Duplicate tests normally give K
L
a values which agree within about 10%, which is
comparable with the accuracy of the standard clean water method.
It will normally be necessary to allow time between consecutive tests on the same tank for
dissolved oxygen concentration to recover to an acceptable starting level. Also, during this
recovery period, if inflow has been stopped for the tests then it may be reinstated to maintain
an adequate supply of substrate for the micro-organisms.