Aquacultural Engineering 42 (2010) 7074

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Aquacultural Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/aqua-online

Performance evaluation of propeller-aspirator-pump aerator

Avinash Kumar, S. Moulick *, B.C. Mal
Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, West Bengal, India

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Article history: Received 17 August 2009 Accepted 1 December 2009 Keywords: Aerator Propeller Standard aeration efciency Non-dimensional numbers

Aeration experiments were conducted in a brick masonry tank of dimension 5.25 m 2.87 m 1.57 m to study the effects of positional angle of propeller shaft (a), submergence depth and rotational speed of shaft on standard aeration efciency (SAE) of a propeller-aspirator-pump aerator. Non-dimensional numbers related to standard aeration efciency (SAE) and wire power (P) termed as E and Ne, respectively, were proposed. To evaluate the optimum geometric condition, i.e., positional angle of propeller shaft (a), aeration experiments were conducted at different values of a: 308, 458, 608, 758 and 908, keeping the rotational speed N (2130 rpm) and submergence depth of propeller shaft d (300 mm) as constants. The results showed that SAE becomes maximum at a = 758. In a similar way, keeping the geometric condition constant (a = 758), aeration experiments were further conducted at different rotational speeds of propeller shaft, N (1420, 1775, 2130, 2485 and 2840 rpm) and different values of submergence depth, d (140, 220, 300, 380 and 460 mm) to evaluate the effect of dynamic conditions on aeration characteristics. It was found that E as well as Ne could be well correlated with Froude number (Fr) and Reynolds number (Re), respectively. Finally, maximum SAE of 0.42 kg O2/kWh was obtained at positional angle of 758, rotational speed of 2840 rpm and submergence depth of 0.14 m of propeller shaft. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Aerators are an essential part of an intensive aquaculture system to full the oxygen demand of the culture environment. Aerators increase the interfacial area between air and water, thus enhancing the oxygen transfer and simultaneously provide water circulation which prevents the stratication in the water body (Boyd and Martinson, 1984). Various types of aerators have been developed over the years to maintain desired level of DO concentration in the pond water in an effort to improve the energy efciency of the oxygen mass transfer process. To meet the aeration requirements, two broad methods are commonly used: (1) splash aeration by vertical pump, pump-sprayer, cascade and paddle wheel aerators and (2) bubbling aeration by diffused-air systems and propeller-aspirator-pumps. Vertical pumps, pumpsprayers, propeller-aspirator-pumps, paddle wheels, and diffusedair systems are probably the most widely used aerators in the eld of aquaculture (Boyd, 1998). Paddle wheel aerators were found to be the most efcient aerator in terms of aeration efciency and circulation (Rappaport et al., 1976; Boyd and Ahmad, 1987). However, in small ponds, vertical pump aerators, propelleraspirator-pump aerators, and diffused-air aerators are more

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 3222283102; fax: +91 3222255303. E-mail address: sanjib_moulick72@yahoo.co.uk (S. Moulick). 0144-8609/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aquaeng.2009.12.001

commonly used than the paddle wheel aerators due to economic reason (Boyd, 1998). The propeller-aspirator-pumps (13 HP) are the least-cost system for ponds less than 2 ha in size when compared to other aeration systems (Engle, 1989). The propeller-aspirator-pump aerator draws atmospheric air through a rotating hollow shaft which is connected to an electric motor at one end and a propeller at the other end which is submerged under water. Basically the propeller accelerates the water to a velocity high enough to cause a drop in pressure over the diffusing surface. This forces air to pass through a diffuser in the hollow shaft and enter into the water as ne bubbles. The ne bubbles thus formed are thoroughly mixed with the water due to the turbulence created by the propeller (Boyd and Martinson, 1984). Propeller-diffusers are manufactured in a variety of sizes from 0.37 to over 11 kW. In practice the oat supports the motor and shaft at an angle with the water surface and the angle can be adjusted to operate in either deep or shallow-water conditions. Boyd and Martinson (1984) conducted experiments on propeller-aspiratorpump aerators of 0.38, 1.5 and 2.24 kW capacities in a shallow basin (1.04 m of water depth) and found that the standard aeration efciency (SAE) ranged between 1.73 and 1.91 kg O2/kWh. The positional angle of the hollow shaft at which maximum aeration efciency occurs was found to be 308. It was also observed that the propeller-aspirator-pump was effective in mixing pond water. Ruttanagosrigit et al. (1991) found that propeller-aspirator-pump

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aerators transferred oxygen to water more efciently at salinities of 1030 ppt than at lower salinities. With regard to diffuser aeration pel (1998) stated that volumetric oxygen system, Wagner and Po transfer rate VOTR [g/m3 h] can be increased with increasing depth of submergence at the same air ow rate. Cancino et al. (2004) and Cancino (2004a,b) designed and developed a high efciency centrifugal surface aerator for shponds. A theoretical design of the rotor using the traditional mass transfer equations and the mechanical approach using the supercial similarities of aerators to axial ow pumps was presented. Based on dimensional analysis, aerators behavior was expressed as a general equation. It was concluded that the aeration efciency improves with the Froude number, but is inversely related to the speed and diameter of the propeller. A maximum SAE of 1.805 kg O2/kWh was obtained using Kinetic 3 propellerwith a diameter of 94 mm, an inlet angle of 118 and an exit angle of 258 at 10 8C. Vinatea and Carvalho (2007) conducted aeration experiments on paddle wheel (PW) and propeller-aspirator-pump (PAP) aerators at different salinities. These results revealed that the efciency of the aerators decreases beyond 30 ppt of salinity. The research work conducted on propeller-aspirator-pump aerator mainly focussed on the following aspects: (i) positional angle of propeller shaft of propeller-aspirator-pump at which aeration efciency approaches maximum (Boyd and Martinson, 1984), (ii) comparative aeration performance of propeller-aspirator-pump aerator, spray type surface aerators and diffused-air aerator of different power ratings (Boyd and Martinson, 1984) and (iii) aeration performance of propeller-aspirator-pump aerator at different salinities (Ruttanagosrigit et al., 1991; Vinatea and Carvalho, 2007). The aeration performance of a propeller-aspirator-pump aerator depends on the positional angle of propeller shaft, submergence depth of the shaft, rotational speed of the propeller and the design features of the propeller. However, no study has been reported with regard to the effects of submergence of the propeller shaft and rotational speed of the propeller on aeration efciency. Keeping in view the above points, the present investigation was focussed on determining the effect of various geometric and dynamic conditions on aeration efciency of a propeller-aspirator-pump aerator (Make: Nan Rong Hai Co. Ltd., Taiwan). 2. Theoretical considerations The standard oxygen transfer rate (SOTR) of an aerating device is dened as the mass of oxygen that the device can introduce into a body of water per unit time at standard conditions (20 8C water temperature, 0 mg/L initial DO concentration, one atmospheric pressure and clear tap water, APHA, 1980): SOTR kL a20 C C 0 V kL a20 9:07 V 103 (1)

2.1. Dimensional analysis The basic dimensional analysis of aeration process has been presented by many investigators (Eckenfelder, 1956; Schmidtke and Horvath, 1976; Zlokarnik, 1979; Banks et al., 1983; Horvath, 1984; Simha, 1991; Ognean, 1993; Rao, 1999; Moulick et al., 2002, 2005; Cancino et al., 2004; Cancino, 2004a,b; Moulick and Mal, 2009). Zlokarnik (1979) stated that the main parameter of the absorption process is the absorption rate coefcient kLa20 V, expressed as kL a20 V SOTR DC (3)

where DC = DO decit = C* C0. The functional relationship between SOTR/DC and the variables may be expressed as: SOTR f 1 a; d; V ; N ; g ; ra ; rw ; nw ; s w DC (4)

where a = positional angle of propeller shaft; d = submergence depth of propeller shaft, i.e., the distance between the water surface and the water suction hole; V = volume of water in the tank; N = rotational speed of propeller; g = acceleration due to gravity; ra = mass density of air; rw = mass density of water; nw = kinematic viscosity of water and sw = surface tension of water Based on Buckingham P theorem, Eq. (4) may be expressed as follows: " # 2 V N2 d ra Nd sw Y f 2 a; 3 ; ; ; ; (5) g rw nw g rw d2 d where Y = absorption number = SOTR (n/g2)1/3/(DC d3), Nd2/ nw = Reynolds number (Re) and sw/(grwd2) = Weber number (W). As the aeration tests were performed on a practically identical system (pure waterair), ra/rw and W remain constant in the aeration tank and subsequently can be omitted from Eq. (5). Elliott (1969) suggested aerator power to water volume ratio to be less than 0.1 kW/m3. Thus in the present study, based on the power consumption of the propeller, water volume was chosen to satisfy the above condition. Hence, the term V/d3 is also omitted from Eq. (5). Thus, simplication of Eq. (5) results in Y f 3 fa; Fr; Reg (6)

The power consumption P of a given propeller-aspirator-pump aerator is, in general, dependent upon the same parameters as the term SOTR/DC. In a similar way, with the help of dimensional analysis the following relationship for power consumption, P is obtained: Ne f 4 a; Fr; Re where Ne Power no: P (7)

where SOTR = standard oxygen transfer rate (kg O2/h), kLa20 = overall oxygen transfer coefcient at 20 8C (h1) = kLaT/uT20, kLaT = overall oxygen transfer coefcient at T 8C (h1), u = temperature correction factor = 1.024 for pure water, C* = saturation value of DO at test conditions (mg/L), C0 = DO concentration at time t = 0 (mg/L), 9.07 = saturation value of DO (mg/L) at 20 8C and one atmospheric pressure and V = aeration tank volume (m3). It is an important parameter used to compare aerators. A better comparative parameter is the standard aeration efciency (SAE), which is dened as the SOTR per unit of power (Lawson and Merry, 1993). SAE kg O2 =kWh SOTR kg O2 =h P (2)

rw N3 d5

(8)

As standard aeration efciency (SAE) is a better comparative parameter for performance evaluation of aerators (Lawson and Merry, 1993) it was also expressed in a non-dimensional form (E) by dividing the absorption number (Y) with power number (Ne) (Moulick et al., 2002, 2005 and Moulick and Mal, 2009) as follows:    1=3 Y SOTR nw 3 1 5 E DC d rw N3 d Ne P g2 or E SAE 

nw
g2

1=3

where P = wire power (kW).

DC

rw N 3 d

(9)

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or E f 5 a; Fr; Re (10)

2.1.1. Geometric similarity Geometric similarity requires that all the linear ratios of the model be related to corresponding ratios of the prototype at a particular dynamic condition. Thus keeping Fr and Re as constant (i.e., maintaining rotational speed of the shaft, N and submergence depth of the propeller, d as constant), the dynamic conditions can be kept as constant and subsequently a particular relationship between E and a can be found out by varying a at different levels. Thus, an optimum value of a can be determined at which E becomes maximum. The volume of water to be aerated can be decided following Elliott (1969). 2.1.2. Dynamic similarity To obtain dynamic similarity between a model and a prototype in geometrically similar systems, all forces acting on the liquid must bear same ratio in both the systems. The inertial, gravity and viscous forces acting in aeration process are expressed by two nondimensional numbers: Froude (Fr) and Reynolds (Re). For dynamic similarity these two numbers should be same for the model and the prototype. Once the value of a is xed, the values of Ne and E depend on the dynamic parameters: Fr and Re. Thus, Eqs. (7) and (10) can be represented as: Ne f 6 Fr; Re E f 7 Fr; Re (11) (12)

Fig. 1. Experimental set-up for testing of propeller-aspirator-pump aerator.

3.2. Aeration test Oxygen transfer tests were conducted in a concrete tank using clean tap water. Initially the tap water was deoxygenated using 0.1 mg/L of cobalt chloride and 10 mg/L of sodium sulphite for each 1 mg/L of dissolved oxygen present in water (Boyd, 1998). Thereafter the aerator was operated at the desired conditions as per the experimental design. The dissolved oxygen measurements were taken using two YSI Professional Plus DO meters, positioned at mid-distances between the propeller and the opposite corners of the tank, both 0.20 m below the water surface (Baylar et al., 2007), at timed intervals till DO increased from zero to about 80% saturation. At least 20 DO measurements at equal time intervals were taken. The DO decit was computed for each time. The slope of the best t line obtained by plotting natural logarithms of DO decits on Y-axis against the time of aeration on X-axis gave the oxygen transfer coefcient at the test water temperature which was adjusted to 20 8C using temperature correction factor. Finally the values of SOTR and SAE were calculated using Eqs. (1) and (2), respectively. 3.3. Experimental design 3.3.1. Effect of positional angle of propeller shaft on oxygen transfer To obtain the optimum value of a, aeration tests were conducted on propeller-aspirator-pump aerator positioned at ve different positional angles (a): 908, 758, 608, 458 and 308 keeping the dynamic conditions (rotational speed of the shaft, N and submergence depth of the propeller, d) constant (Section 2.1.1). The rotational speed of the shaft (N) and submergence depth of the propeller (d) was xed at 2130 rpm and 300 mm, respectively. In each case, the volume of water to be aerated (V) was maintained to satisfy: P/V  0.1 kW/m3 (Elliott, 1969). 3.3.2. Effect of dynamic conditions (Fr and Re) on oxygen transfer and power consumption Keeping the optimized value of a (obtained from previous set of experiments) constant, N and d were varied simultaneously to nd out the effect of different dynamic conditions on E and Ne. The ranges of variation of N and d were from 1420 to 2840 rpm (at an interval of 355 rpm) and 140 to 460 mm (at an interval of 80 mm), respectively amounting to 25 sets of experiments. The volume of

3. Materials and methods The details of the experimental set-up and the experimental procedure are presented in this section. 3.1. Experimental set-up The aeration experiments were conducted in a brick masonry tank of dimension 5.25 m 2.87 m 1.57 m. The test aerator consisted of a propeller-aspirator-pump aerator operated by a 2 HP, 3 phase high speed induction motor (22 kg, 440 V and 3.3 A) of 2840 rpm manufactured by Nan Rong Hai Co. Ltd., Taiwan. The specications of the propeller are as follows: (i) materialhigh density polyethylene (HDP), (ii) number of paddles4, (iii) total diameter100 mm, (iv) inlet and exit angles158 and 258, (v) inner and outer width of paddles27 and 50 mm and (vi) length of paddles30 mm. The propeller is attached with the motor through a 700 mm long shaft already xed with the motor. Aerator was mounted at the centre of the tank on supports fabricated by using four numbers of 40 mm diameter and 1.60 m long G.I. pipes (Fig. 1). As the maximum speed of the motor is 2840 rpm and it was desired to evaluate its performance at different speeds, a frequency based speed controller was connected to the motor by a 15 m, 3 phase electric cable to control the speed to desired values. The positional angle of propeller shaft a (inclination of the shaft with the horizontal water surface) can be changed by changing the position of an arm attached to the supporting structure. The atmospheric air enters through the hole A of the propeller shaft due to suction created by the aspirator. Water drawn through the hole B is thoroughly mixed with the air and is nally splashed into the atmosphere. Thus aeration of the water takes place. The depth of submergence (d) can be changed by rotating the spindle of the structure.

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Fig. 2. Variation of E with positional angle of propeller shaft.

Fig. 3. Effects of Reynolds criterion on E.

water to be aerated was xed in a similar fashion as stated in Section 3.3.1.

4. Results and discussion 4.1. Determination of optimum positional angle (a) of propeller shaft Aeration tests were conducted at different values of a (Section 3.3.1). A typical plot showing the variation of E with a is shown in Fig. 2. It is seen from the gure that all the points could be well tted by a second order polynomial equation with the variation of a in the range of 30908. E 4 106 a2 0:0006 a 0:0017; R2 0:897 (13)
Fig. 4. Effects of Froude criterion on E.

From the developed relationship, the value of a, at which E reaches the peak value, is found to be 758. In this case, E is directly proportional to SAE as N and d were kept as constants. Hence the optimum positional angle corresponds to maximum SAE also. 4.2. Effect of dynamic conditions (Fr and Re) on oxygen transfer and power consumption The optimized value of a (758) was kept as a constant and N and d were varied to nd out the effect of different dynamic conditions on E and Ne (Section 3.3.2). 4.2.1. Effect of Re and Fr on E The relationship between E and Re and E and Fr is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. It can be seen from Fig. 3 that the data from different submergence depths followed different curves and indicated the scale effect of Re on E. All the curves show an exponential increase of E for the ranges of Re studied. However, Fig. 4 reveals that E could be well tted with Fr by the following equation suggesting a unique relationship between E and Fr. 0:0002 Fr2 0:876 Fr ; 5:28 0:0068 Fr 3310=Fr R2 0:976

Fig. 5. Effects of Reynolds criterion on power number Ne.

(14)

The above equation is valid subject to 7.993  Fr  105.057. Therefore, it is seen that the scale effects are more pronounced if the Re criterion is used as compared to the Fr criterion on E. It is possibly due to the fact that, gravity force plays a major role in oxygen transfer than the viscous forces as found out by earlier investigations on surface aerators (Zlokarnik, 1979; Horvath, 1984; Moulick et al., 2002, 2005; Moulick and Mal, 2009).

4.2.2. Effect of Re and Fr on Ne The effect of Re and Fr on Ne is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively. It can be seen from Fig. 5 that the data points for different submergence depths are close to each other and could be well tted by the following equation: Ne 11:139 105 Re
2:3213

R2 0:944

(15)

However, no unique relationship could be established between Fr and Ne (Fig. 6). No valid explanation could be offered for this discrepancy.

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A. Kumar et al. / Aquacultural Engineering 42 (2010) 7074

5. Conclusions A propeller-aspirator-pump aerator was tested with an aim to evaluate the optimum conditions that would result in maximum efciency of the aerator. Based on dimensional analysis, nondimensional numbers, E and Ne were proposed for standard aeration efciency (SAE) and wire power (P), respectively. Keeping the dynamic conditions constant, experiments were conducted at different positional angles (a) of the propeller shaft. From the testing optimum value of a was obtained as 758. Further experiments were conducted at different dynamic conditions keeping the geometric condition constant (a = 758). The results showed that E and Ne are well correlated with Fr and Re, respectively. Maximum SOTR and SAE are found to be 0.15 kg O2/h and 0.42 kg O2/kWh, respectively at rotational speed (N) of 2840 rpm, submergence depth (d) of 0.14 m and positional angle of 758 of the propeller shaft.
Fig. 6. Effects of Froude criterion on power number Ne.

References
American Public Health Association (APHA), 1980. American Water Works Association, and Pollution Control Federal, 16th ed. APHA, Washington, DC. Banks, R.B., Sally, L.R., Polprasert, C., 1983. Mechanical mixing and surface reaeration. J. Environ. Eng. 109 (1), 232241. Baylar, A., Bagatur, T., Emiroglu, M.E., 2007. Aeration efciency with nappe ow over stepped cascades. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., Waters. Maritime Energ. 160 (WM1), 4350. Boyd, C.E., 1998. Pond water aeration systems. Aquacult. Eng. 18 (1), 940. Boyd, C.E., Ahmad, T., 1987. Evaluation of Aerators for Channel Catsh Farming. Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University, AL. Bulletin, p. 584. Boyd, C.E., Martinson, D.J., 1984. Evaluation of propeller-aspirator-pump aerators. Aquaculture 36 (3), 283292. Cancino, B., 2004a. Design of high efciency surface aerators. Part 2. Rating of surface aerator rotors. Aquacult. Eng. 31 (12), 99115. Cancino, B., 2004b. Design of high efciency surface aerators. Part 3. Dimensional analysis of rotor performance. Aquacult. Eng. 31 (12), 117121. Cancino, B., Roth, P., Reu, M., 2004. Design of high efciency surface aerators. Part 1. Development of new rotors for surface aerators. Aquacult. Eng. 31 (12), 83 98. Eckenfelder, W.W., 1956. Process design of aeration system for biological waste treatment. Chem. Eng. Prog. 52 (7), 286292. Elliott, J.W., 1969. The oxygen requirements of chinook salmon. Prog. Fish Cult. 31, 67. Engle, C.R., 1989. An economic comparison of aeration devices for aquaculture ponds. Aquacult. Eng. 8 (3), 193207. Horvath, I., 1984. Modelling in the Technology of Wastewater Treatment. Pergamon, Tarrytown, NY. Lawson, T.B., Merry, G.E., 1993. Procedures for evaluating low-power surface aerators under eld conditions. Techniques for modern aquaculture. In: Wang, J.K. (Ed.), Proc. of an Aqua. Eng. Conf., ASAE, MI, USA, 2123 June, p. 511. Moulick, S., Mal, B.C., 2009. Performance evaluation of double-hub paddle wheel aerator. J. Environ. Eng. 135 (7), 562566. Moulick, S., Bandyopadhyay, S., Mal, B.C., 2005. Design characteristics of single hub paddle wheel aerator. J. Environ. Eng. 131 (8), 11471154. Moulick, S., Mal, B.C., Bandyopadhyay, S., 2002. Prediction of aeration performance of paddle wheel aerators. Aquacult. Eng. 25 (4), 217237. Ognean, T., 1993. Aspects concerning scale-up criteria for surface aerators. Water Res. 27 (3), 477484. Rao, A.R., 1999. Prediction of reaeration rates in square, stirred tanks. J. Environ. Eng. 125 (3), 215223. Rappaport, U., Sarig, S., Marek, M., 1976. Results of tests of various aeration systems on the oxygen regime in the genosar experimental ponds and growth of sh there in 1975. Bamidgeh 28, 3549. Ruttanagosrigit, W., Musig, Y., Boyd, C.E., Sukchareon, L., 1991. Effect of salinity on oxygen transfer by propeller-aspirator-pump and paddle wheel aerators used in shrimp farming. Aquacult. Eng. 10 (2), 121131. Schmidtke, N.W., Horvath, T., 1976. Scale-up Methodology for Surface Aerated Reactors. Progressive Water Technology, vol. 9. Pergamon Press, pp. 477493. Simha, L.U., 1991. Experimental studies on overall oxygen transfer coefcient. Ph.D. Thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, p. 187. Vinatea, L., Carvalho, J.W., 2007. Inuence of water salinity on the SOTR of paddlewheel and propeller-aspirator-pump aerators, its relation to the number of aerators per hectare and electricity costs. Aquacult. Eng. 31 (1), 7378. pel, H.J., 1998. Oxygen transfer and aeration efciencyinuence Wagner, M.R., Po of diffuser submergence, diffuser density, and blower type. Water Sci. Technol. 38 (3), 16. Zlokarnik, M., 1979. Scale-up of surface aerators for wastewater treatment. Adv. Biochem. Eng. 11 (2), 157179.

4.3. Optimum dynamic condition for propeller-aspirator-pump aerator To arrive at a particular dynamic condition that yields the maximum SAE, E was expressed in terms of SAE (Eq. (9)) assuming the water temperature to be 20 8C, value of g as 9.81 m/s2, DC as 9.07 mg/L, rw as 1000 kg/m3, equated to Eq. (14) and the following expression is obtained: SAE 0:0002 Fr2 0:876 Fr=f5:28 0:0068 Fr 3310=Frg 240:59 N3 d
2

(16) The above equation is valid subject to 7.993  Fr  105.057. Substituting Fr = N2d/g in the above equation, an unconstrained nonlinear programming was followed using WinQSB (version 1.00) to determine the values of N and d at which SAE is maximum. The maximum value of SAE was found to be 0.42 kg O2/kWh at a submergence depth of propeller shaft, d = 0.14 m and rotational speed of N = 2837.592840 rpm. To calculate the power consumption, Eq. (15) can be rewritten by substituting Ne = P/(rwN3d5), Re = Nd2/nw (assuming water temperature = 20 8C), rw = 1000 kg/ m3, N = 2840/60 = 47.33 rps, d = 0.14 m and nw = 1 106 m2/s as shown below. ! 2 Nd 5 P 11:139 rw N 3 d 105 2:3213

nw

11:139 1000 47:333 0:145 360:8174 W 0:361 kW

105 47:33 0:142 1106

! 2:3213

Thus, SOTR = SAE P = 0.42 0.361 = 0.15 kg O2/h. Therefore, a maximum SAE of 0.42 kg O2/kWh and corresponding SOTR of 0.15 kg O2/h can be obtained by operating the propeller-aspirator-pump aerator at a submergence depth, d = 0.14 m and rotational speed, N = 2840 rpm. Boyd and Martinson (1984) conducted experiments on propeller-aspirator-pump aerators (Aire-O2 aerators) and found that the SAE ranged between 1.73 and 1.91 kg O2/kWh. The results of the present study showed that a maximum SAE of only 0.42 kg O2/kWh is achievable with propeller aerator of make Nan Rong Hai Co. Ltd., Taiwan. Therefore, it appears that the design of the particular propeller used for the study needs modication or replacement to achieve higher efciency. There is a need to conduct future studies with various designs of propeller.