Ohio Northern University

CE 3231 - Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Science

Introduction Chemistry, Microbiology & Material Balance Water & Air Pollution Env Risk Management

Dissolved Oxygen Sag Curve Readings for This Class:

When organic carbon is placed into a stream environment, the dissolved
oxygen drops following a characteristic pattern. The resulting “sag curve”
is able to be modeled to predict the minimum oxygen concentration 5.5-5.6
expected and the point along the river stretch where the deficit will occur.
 Lecture 25

DO Sag Curve – Streeter Phelps Model

(Water Quality V)
BOD and DO

 Definition of BOD
 Calculating BODx from equation
DO Sag Curves
Simple Plug Flow River Model
Objective: derive a mathematical model to predict DO downstream: DO(x,t)

Wastewater discharge
(High BOD, Low DO)

Assumptions:
1. completely and uniformly mixed in the cross flow and
vertical direction
2. neglect pollutant dispersion
 Formulation: Mass balance

DO replenish from air

A control volume in the river

A
A: cross section area (m2)
u: flow velocity u
DOin
DOout
Δx

DO consumed due to oxidation

Formulation: Mass balance
Formulation: Mass balance
Formulation: Mass balance

 k L 
 
D   d 0 e kd t  e kr t  D0e kr t 
 kr  kd 
Critical Point

• Time/Distance @ DO=Domin
– Minimal occurs when dDO/dt=0
– Taking the sag equation with respect to t and setting
it equal to zero, then solve for t

1  kr  kr  kd  
tc  ln  1  D0  
kr  kd  kd  kd L0  

Distance downstream where DOmin occurs = tc x u

u: flow speed of the river
 æ k L ö
( )
Streeter Phelps -kd t -kr t -kr t
solved for Dmax D max = çç d 0
e -e + D0e ÷÷
è kr - kd ø

1  kr  kr  kd  
Streeter Phelps tc  ln  1  D0  
solved for critical kr  kd  kd  kd L0  
time

In-class Problem

The initial BOD of a river just below a sewage outfall is 25 mg/L. The oxygen deficit just
upstream from the outfall is 2 mg/L. The deoxygenation rate coefficient kd is 0.4/day, and
the reacation rate coefficient kr is 0.7/day. The river is flowing at a speed of 20 miles/day.
You have been asked to determine the impact of this single source on the river:

a) Find the critical distance downstream at which DO is a minimum

a) Find the minimum DO

 1  kr  kr  kd  
Solution (a) tc  ln  1  D0  
kr  kd  kd  kd L0  

1 æ 0.7 æ 0.7 - 0.4 öö

tc = ln ç ç1- 2× ÷÷ = 1.65days
0.7 - 0.4 è 0.4 è 0.4 × 25 øø

dc = tc × u =1.65days× 20miles / day = 33miles

In-class Problem

The initial BOD of a river just below a sewage outfall is 25 mg/L. The oxygen deficit just
upstream from the outfall is 2 mg/L. The deoxygenation rate coefficient kd is 0.4/day, and
the reacation rate coefficient kr is 0.7/day. The river is flowing at a speed of 20 miles/day.
You have been asked to determine the impact of this single source on the river:

a) Find the critical distance downstream at which DO is a minimum

a) Find the minimum DO

 æ k L ö
Solution (b) D max = çç d 0

è kr - kd
(
-kd t
e -e -kr t
)
-kr t
+ D0e ÷÷
ø
æ 0.4 × 25 -0.4×1.65 -0.7×1.65 ö
D max = ç
è 0.7 - 0.4
e ( -e )
+ 2× e -0.7×1.65
÷ = 7.36
ø

DO min = DOsat - Dmax =10 - 7.36 = 2.65mg / L

In-class Problem

The initial BOD of a river just below a sewage outfall is 25 mg/L. The oxygen deficit just
upstream from the outfall is 2 mg/L. The deoxygenation rate coefficient kd is 0.4/day, and
the reacation rate coefficient kr is 0.7/day. The river is flowing at a speed of 20 miles/day.
You have been asked to determine the impact of this single source on the river:

a) Find the critical distance downstream at which DO is a minimum

a) Find the minimum DO

 æ k L ö
( )
Streeter Phelps -kd t -kr t -kr t
solved for Dmax D max = çç d 0
e -e + D0e ÷÷
è kr - kd ø

1  kr  kr  kd  
Streeter Phelps tc  ln  1  D0  
solved for critical kr  kd  kd  kd L0  
time

What happens when there is no initial deficit?

What happens where the organic loading increases?

What happens if the river increases velocity?