Discharge plume

Carry out a preliminary sampling program to establish the magnitude and variability of the site, i.e. wastewater discharge, plume size of the receiving water and the composition of the biological community. 

Based on surveys before and after the discharges in 1994, 30 TBq (March-April) and 32 TBq (Septem-ber-October), the transit time for technetium from the Irish Sea to the North Sea was calculated to be considerably faster than previous estimations of transit times for released radionuclides. This faster transport is demonstrated by measurements indicating that the first discharge plume of Tc had reached the south coast of Norway before November 1996 in about 2.5 years compared to the previously estimated transit time of 3-4 years. 

Many organisms are exposed to some of the thermal, chemical, and physical stresses of entrainment by being mixed at the discharge with the heated water this is plume entrainment. The exact number exposed depends on the percentage of temperature decline at the discharge that is attributed to turbulent mixing rather than to radiative or evaporative cooling to the atmosphere. 

Buoyancy-induced dispersion, which is caused near the source due to the rapid expansion of the plume during the rapid rise of the thermally buoyant plume after its release from the point of discharge, should also be included for buoyant releases (15). The effective vertical dispersion cr is found from... 

One major item remains before we can apply the dispersion methodology to elevated emission sources, namely plume height elevation or rise. Once the plume rise has been determined, diffusion analyses based on the classical Gaussian diffusion model may be used to determine the ground-level concentration of the pollutant. Comparison with the applicable standards may then be made to demonstrate compliance with a legal discharge standard. 

Fog A mist formed where the ambient air cannot absorb all the plume s moisture. The intensity of the fog is a function of the heat rise of air passing through the tower and the temperature and humidity of the ambient air. Fog plumes are normally permissible since there are no droplets of water raining out of the discharge area however, fog may cause icing of nearby roads and may restrict visibility. 

Because of extreme venting conditions assumed, effective stack heights and resultant plumes from both 3- and 5-minute discharge conditions attain heights beyond the micro-meteorological conditions assumed in accepted computation models. It is therefore highly probable there will be considerably further atmospheric dispersion and diffusion of the VCM than predicted in the results shown. That is, the ground level concentration can be expected to be considerably lower than the values shown in Table 6. 

In the general case, a buoyant jet has an initial momentum. In the region close to discharge, momentum forces dominate the flow, so it behaves like a nonbuoyant jet. There is an intermediate region where the influence of the initial momentum forces becomes smaller and smaller. In the final region, the buoyancy forces completely dominate the flow and it behaves like a plume. When the jet is supplied at an angle to the vertical direction, it is turned upward by the buoyancy forces and behaves virtually like a vertical buoyant jet in a far field. A negative buoyant jet continuously loses momentum due the opposite direction of buoyancy forces to the supply air momentum and eventually turns downward. 

Plume Effluent discharged from a chimney or exhaust duct, composed of gases alone or gases and particulate matter. The plume shape depends on temperature difference and turbulence. The flow of visible hot gases or vapor from an outlet. 

Fumes and vapors discharged to the environment via a chimney form a plume, which is approximately cone shaped. Mathematical modeling of dispersal rates is possible. The Gaussian dispersion model is commonly used to calculate the concentration of pollutants at coordinate positions X, Y and Z. (The coordinates are measured from the plume centerline.) The equation used is ... 

Farrell and Holland (1983) cited ba,sed on Sr isotope study on anhydrite and barite in Kuroko deposits that the most appealing model for the formation of Kuroko strata-bound ores would seem to entail precipitation of the minerals from a hydrothermal solution within the discharge vent or in the interior of a hydrothermal plume formed immediately below above the vent exit in the overlying seawater (Eldridge et al., 1983). The study on the chimney ores from Kuroko deposits support this model which is discussed below. 

The problem for the designer is to determine the appropriate stack height. This is illustrated in Figure 25.34. This shows that the effective stack height is a combination of the actual stack height and the plume rise. The plume rise is a function of discharge velocity, temperature of emission and atmospheric stability3. 

A field study was conducted by Larson et al. [31] to characterise the impact of effluent discharges on a sandy soil about 0.5 m below the surface. A 2.5 m thick unsaturated zone and a 3—4 m thick unconfined sand/gravel aquifer underlaid the tile field. LAS concentrations in the effluent plume decreased over a distance of 10 m from 10 000 to 30 xg L-1. A further object of study was a laundromat pond exposed to LAS-containing sewage for more than 25 years. A clay layer separated the natural pond from the vadose zone made up of porous sand. Measurements of LAS levels as a function of soil depth beneath the pond showed a rapid decrease from about 220 mg kg-1 at 30 cm to... 

Typically, application of science involves prediction of function such as determining at what rate a well must be pumped to create a suitable capture zone. What period of time will be required to biodegrade a mass of contaminant within a plume How much activated carbon will be required to treat the discharged vapor What will be the cost of electricity to power the remediation system Engineers are more likely capable of designing a balanced remediation system that has flow rates matched to reaction times or water-air contact rates. Tank sizes, power consumption, and similar rate-time-related calculations also fall within the specialty of the engineer. 

Al-Barwani, H., Pumama, A. Simulating brine plumes discharged into the seawaters. Desalination 221(1-3), 608-613 (2008)... 

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