I was wondering whether there were standard methods for calculating the instantaneous and total removal of a contaminant from water as it passes through a reactive reservoir, from inflow and outflow data. This applies to such things as bioreactors and wetlands: we have measurement of flow and concentration in the inflow, and flow and concentration in the outflow. Often the data are incomplete. The flows are also quite variable (driven by rain events), as are the concentrations, and also the volume of the reservoir might change over time. Is there a standard method? Thanks!
one way of solving this problem is to use the law of conservation of matter.
inflow-outflow = accumulation
then write a partial derivate equation for the concentration wrt to the length of the reactor, use numerical method to solve the partial. Study Advection-Dispersion equation 3D or the 1D version of it. Note, if the system is modelled as a tubular reactor, a 1D analysis may surfice. However, if you have many adjoining parts, you may use a1D analysis as well, but take each part as a 1D system, using outflows from one part as inflows for the next, Hope this helps
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