Dimensionless criteria for estimating oxygen transfer in aeration systems

The effect of power consumption on oxygen transfer efficiency has been evaluated for both surface and subsurface aeration systems. Two new dimensionless criteria (numbers) have been proposed for this purpose. They are termed the efficiency criterion or T(o) number and the power consumption effect criterion or Av number. The analysis presented in this article is based on data obtained on various full-scale aeration systems, and it shows that for each aerator there is an optimum power consumption at which maximum oxygen transfer efficiency results. The oxygen transfer efficiency has maximum values when the efficiency criterion (T(o) number) reaches an approximately constant value. The results have proven that when there are several aerators with identical diameters and the same rotational velocity but different geometrical shapes, the most efficient one will be (after having reached the maximum transfer efficiency) the one with the highest power consumption. For two aerators varying in diameter but with the same parameter as above (maximum transfer, equal rotational velocity), different efficiencies are obtained, the difference being a function of d(-0.5). The results of investigating subsurface aeration systems show that the efficiency of decreased.