Improvement of oxygen transfer efficiency in aerated ponds using liquid-film-assisted approach

Abstract

In aerated ponds, oxygen is generally supplied through either diffused or mechanical aeration means. Surface transfer and bubble transfer both contribute significantly to oxygen transfer in a diffused aeration system. In the present study, a liquid-film-forming apparatus (LFFA) is successfully developed on a laboratory scale to improve considerably the surface transfer via the unique liquid film transfer technique. The experimental results show that the volumetric mass transfer coefficient for LFFA alone is found to be as much as 5.3 times higher than that for water surface and that the total volumetric mass transfer coefficient for the liquid film aeration system increases by 37% in comparison with a conventional aeration system. Additionally, by tuning finely the structural parameters of the LFFA, it can also lead to high dissolved oxygen (DO) water with the DO percent saturation greater than 90%. More importantly, this result is accomplished by simply offering a single-pass aeration at a depth as shallow as 26 cm. As a result, the objective of economical energy consumption in aerated ponds can be realized by lowering the aeration depth without sacrificing the aeration efficiency. It is noteworthy that the data presented in this study are acquired either numerically or experimentally.