Abstract
This paper addresses a problem common to all the standards, which is the
application of clean water test result to Process Oxygen Transfer Rates.
By modifying the conventional model used by the standards for this
application, and if proper OUR (oxygen uptake rate) methods can
accurately determine the respiration rate, this paper attempts to show
that the clean water tests can be used to determine the oxygen transfer
efficiency of an aeration device in the field. The new model is based on
previously developed mathematical models, and also based on the novel
concept of a resistance to gas transfer due to microbial activity in the
field. It is postulated that the relative mass transfer coefficient, α
(alpha), the ratio of mass transfer coefficient in wastewater KLaf to
mass transfer coefficient in water KLa, is independent of microbial
activities. The field-determined OTEpw is mathematically associative to
the transfer process by addition.